Asphalt Pro - December 2017

State of the Sustainable Industry

asphaltPRO Production – Professionals – Products

New SMA In Maryland

• Here’s How to Recruit • Declare Your Green Product • Union Manages Complex Airport Paving

Learn Wabash Valley’s Secret to Asphalt Success December 2017 www.TheAsphaltPro.com

UNMATCHED DESIGN

Heatec has been designing and building tank farms for over 40 years and each project has been unique in some way. That’s because each customer is unique. You have your own business model that may be slightly different or dramatically different from the other guys’.

That’s why at Heatec we take a comprehensive approach to designing your tank farm. That means we look at the materials you will be using, all the equipment that needs heat, the piping, and even future plans for expansion. Then we design a system that works for you.

And we make it efficient and simple to operate. Heatec is unmatched when it comes to designing heating and storage systems for your asphalt plant. To find out more about our approach, visit us at www. heatec.com or give us a call at 423-821-5200.

H E AT E C , I N C .

an Astec Industries Company

5200 WILSON RD • CHATTANOOGA, TN 37410 USA 800.235.5200 • FAX 423.821.7673 • heatec.com

CONTENTS departments

asphaltPRO december 2017

20

Editor’s Letter 5 — Resolve to Maintain

Around the Globe 6

SAFETY SPOTLIGHT 10 — Light Up Your Hat

By John Ball

MIX IT UP 12 — The State of Flat and Elongated Aggregate Requirements for SMA

By Don Watson

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

32

44

Feature articles

50

20 — Buffalo Airport Gets a Lift

By Gini McKain

PRODUCER PROFILE 26 — Wabash Valley is All Asphalt, All the Time

By Sarah Redohl

MEET THE STATE EXEC 32 — VAA’s Trenton Clark

By Sarah Redohl

INTERNATIONAL SNAPSHOT 36 — International Quarrying From Magna Tyres

THAT’S A GOOD IDEA 66 — Put Wheels on the Plate Compactor

By John Ball

PRODUCT GALLERY 68 — Asphalt Production Shines with Environmental, Equipment Updates

By AsphaltPro Staff

NEW TECH 74 — Wear it While You Work

By Sarah Redohl

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS 82 — Conveyor Components’ Model BR Brush

40 — Quantify Environmental Benefits of Asphalt

By Mike Acott 42 — Positive Culture Wins Over Strategy

By Jennifer Douglass 44 – We Can Bind Longer Asphalt industry increases its environmentally friendly use of materials

By Sandy Lender 50 – Maryland Paving Gets Started on a New SMA Concept

By Sarah Redohl 58 — Industry Uses Clean Diesel From Diesel Technology Forum 60 – Bring New Workers to Your Company

By Sandy Lender

66

Rubberized asphalt for better roads.

CEI for better rubberized asphalt.

Trust the most established name in asphalt rubber blending equipment — CEI Enterprises. A market leader since the 1990s, CEI pioneered high-precision, technologically advanced systems that are durable, easy-to-use, field-proven, and have the best service support in the industry.

Did we mention the high continuous production rates? CEI’s triple-compartment reaction tanks allow for agitation, reaction, and usage operations to occur simultaneously, while being controlled independently. This 3-stage process offers production rates of 25 to 34 tons per hour of binder that is ready for use.

Like all CEI equipment, our asphalt-rubber blending systems are proudly American-made in Albuquerque, NM, and backed by worldwide parts and service support.

Made in U.S.A.

C E I E N T E R P R I S E S an Astec Industries Company 245 WOODWARD RD SE • ALBUQUERQUE, NM 87102 USA • 800.545.4034 • FAX 505.243.1422 • ceienterprises.com

editor’s Letter Resolve to Maintain

December 2017 • Vol. 11 No.3

asphaltPRO

“From Pennsylvania, folks are travelin’ Down to Dixie’s sunny shore, From Atlantic to Pacific, Gee, the traffic is terrific.”

602 W. Morrison, Box 6a

For the Thanksgiving weekend in 2015, AAA reported nearly 47 million Americans traveling. The number rose to 48.7 million in 2016. This year, all sources at press time were mere- Editor Sandy Lender ly saying “millions.” For the Christmas week in 2015, AAA saw shared transportation numbers “top 100 million for the first time on record.” funding thoughts with Honestly, I don’t think we need national organizations like Rep. Daniel Webster ATSSA and AAA to tell us there are a lot of people on the roads (R-Fla.) during the this time of year. Those holiday travelers represent the end August recess. user and ultimate customer for an industry like ours.

Even though the majority of motorists don’t give a thought to the surface upon which they drive, it’s vital that we do. We should include in our list of New Year’s resolutions to build and maintain the safest, smoothest, longest-lasting pavements that we can for the tax paying citizen. We have competitors who would like to take market share from our industry, so our best materials, best practices and best results have to go into every project. Sources helped me point that out in the article on page 44, We Can Bind Longer.

The asphalt industry has a reputation for environmental excellence and for being cautious in implementing new technologies. Researchers take the time to ensure something will work before recommending a new practice or new tech tip. That makes our commitment to quality control and quality assurance all the more laudable. That makes a resolution to maintain quality all the more valuable to the end users. That makes the asphalt industry all the more commendable in the sustainable revolution.

May you have a safe and peaceful holiday season with family and friends around you. I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy, Prosperous New Year.

Stay Safe,

Fayette, MO 65248 (573) 823-6297 www.theasphaltpro.com Group publisher Chris Harrison chris@ theasphaltpro.com publisher Sally Shoemaker sally@theasphaltpro.com (573) 823-6297 editor Sandy Lender sandy@theasphaltpro.com (239) 272-8613 ASSOCIATE EDITOR Sarah Redohl sarah@theasphaltpro.com (573) 289-5390 Art Director Kristin Branscom business manager Susan Campbell (660) 728-5007

AsphaltPro is published 10 times per year: January, February, March/ April, May/ June, July, August, September, October, November and December by Asphalt Pro, LLC, 602 W. Morrison, Box 6a, Fayette, MO 65248.

Writers expressing views in AsphaltPro Magazine or on the AsphaltPro website are professionals with sound, professional advice. Views expressed herein are not necessarily the same as the views of AsphaltPro, thus producers/contractors are still encouraged to use best practices when implementing new advice.

Sandy Lender

Subscription Policy: Individual subscriptions are available without charge in the United Sates, Canada and Mexico to qualified individuals.

State of the Sustainable Industry

asphaltPRO PRODUCTION – PROFESSIONALS – PRODUCTS

New SMA In Maryland

• Here’s How to Recruit • Declare Your Green Product • Union Manages Complex Airport Paving

Learn Wabash Valley’s Secret to Asphalt Success DECEMBER 2017 WWW.THEASPHALTPRO.COM

on the cover

Wabash Valley Asphalt Company, located in Terre Haute, Indiana, has been producing and paving asphalt for more than 80 years.

See related article on page 26. Photo courtesy Doug Collett.

One year subscription to non-qualifying Individuals: United States $90, Canada and Mexico $125.00. For the international digital edition, visit theasphaltpro.com/subscribe/.

www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 5

around the globe

Industry News and Happenings from Around the World Argentina

ALLU Group, headquartered in Finland, has announced its newest distributor is Igarreta Maquinas in Argentina. The company will supply the comprehensive range of ALLU Transformer and Soil Stabilization equipment, and will provide full aftermarket care, parts and customer service.

Germany

• Leica Geosystems was recently awarded the first-place prize in the Wichmann Innovations Award programme held during the INTERGEO 2017 conference and trade fair in Berlin.

• BOMAG Americas, Ridgeway, South Carolina, hosted nearly 1,200 guests representing approximately 60 countries during its third Innovation Days Sept. 18 through 23 in Boppard, Germany. During the workshops and presentations, customers experienced the company’s products in action, learned about new technologies and saw manufacturing first-hand.

South Africa

The economic comeback of Sub-Sahara and positive market opportunities in South Africa are reflected in the number of companies that have already signed up for 2018’s bauma CONEXPO AFRICA. The third international trade fair for construction machinery, building material machines, mining machines and construction vehicles will be held at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in South Africa from March 13 to 16, with an exhibition area of 68,000 square meters. Source: Association of Equipment Manufacturers

United Arab Emirates

The 2nd Argus Middle East Petroleum Coke Conference will take place in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE, Jan. 24 and 25, 2018. They anticipate over 150 participants. Get registration information from me.events@argusmedia.com.

United States

December is the final month to take advantage of the PATH Act of 2015. If you acquired an eligible piece of equipment—such as an asphalt paver, roller, haul truck, etc.—and put it in service during 2017, you are eligible to depreciate 50 percent of its cost. That’s a tax savings right there, but only until the end of 2017.

6 // december 2017

California

BuildItSites.com, Burbank, California, launched by tech-savvy veterans of the construction industry, is offering to set up new websites for general contractors for free. You pay a monthly service fee after that, but BuildItSites.com is taking some of the marketing hassle off the general contractor’s plate and showing contractors how to maintain and update their sites.

Illinois

KPI-JCI and Astec Mobile Screens hosted North American dealers at its annual National Dealer Conference Sept. 11 through 13 at Astec Mobile Screens in Sterling, Illinois. The domestic dealer principals got together for educational sessions, product reviews, factory tours, and recognition of sales and service excellence. This year, the company also featured two live demos of the GT104 scalper and GT205 multi-frequency track screens from Astec Mobile Screens.

Iowa

Continental’s Mount Pleasant, Iowa, plant celebrated its 40th anniversary this fall. More than 260 employees work in the 200,000-squarefoot facility, which manufactures industrial and automotive hose products. It began production with two spiral hose lines in 1977. Continental acquired the plant in January 2015 and integrated it into its ContiTech division.

Maryland

Governor Larry Hogan announced Aug. 30 a $22.8 million project to add a fourth lane to the eastbound side of the Severn River Bridge in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Construction has begun and is expected to be completed before Memorial Day in 2018. The governor also announced the start of construction for the 2.5-mile, $37.5 million MD 32 widening project in Howard County. Gov. Hogan also awarded $38,390.961 in grants for local roads in municipalities and counties, based on the state’s formula for the distribution of Highway User Revenues and above and beyond Maryland’s current $8 billion six-year investment in state roads and bridges. Source: Maryland Asphalt Association.

Missouri

Your AsphaltPro staff, Fayette, Missouri, has teamed up with hall-of-famer industry con-

sultant John S. Ball III of Top Quality Paving & Training, Manchester, New Hampshire, to bring you an online training course for each member of your asphalt paving crew. Check out free previews of lessons or get started by clicking the green “enroll” button at http://training.theasphaltpro.com/p/asphalt-paving-101.

New Jersey

ALLU Inc. has opened a new facility in East Brunswick, New Jersey, which will create additional warehouse capacity for aftermarket parts and factory space to increase product inventory by local assembly. The move will allow ALLU’s North American subsidiary to offer remanufacture and recertification of pre-owned buckets.

Oregon

Cummins Inc., Columbus, Indiana, announced that it is acquiring the assets of Brammo Inc., which designs and develops battery packs for mobile and stationary applications. Operations from the acquisition will report under Cummins recently formed Electrification Business, led by Julie Furber, and based in Talent, Oregon.

Tennessee

Plan ahead for recycling! The Construction & Demolition Recycling Association (CDRA) invites you to attend the silver anniversary of C&D World Feb. 10 through 13 at the Hilton Nashville.

The event will also host the annual meeting of the CDRA. Get info at www.cdrecycling.org.

Virginia

Christopher Payne, PE, CCM, executive vice president and chief operating officer of MBP, became chair of the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA), McLean, Virginia, at the Association’s National Conference and Trade Show in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) has prepared a guide to help highway construction and material firm owners comply with the new rule from the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) regarding crystalline silica exposure.

The publication contains background materials and guidance on the four basic steps for compliance, and is available for purchase at www.artbastore.org.

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Dedicated to Success.

safety spotlight

Light Up Your Hat

ABOVE: In this picture, Consepcion Palma-Loya (at left) and Alfredo Velazquez (at right) model their extra safety with the Halo lights on their hard hats. At Right: As we’ve reported in the magazine before, the Halo Light attaches to a standard hard hat, creating an extra ring of visibility for the worker. Photos courtesy John Ball, Top Quality Paving & Training, Manchester, New Hampshire.

T

This could easily fit in the That’s a Good Idea column, but let’s draw some extra attention to the ring of light affixed to hard hats as a safety device. You’ve seen the Halo Light in the pages of AsphaltPro before. Lately, the teams that make these lights have made them “lighter” in terms of weight. The one you see on this page from ILLUMAGEAR is about 10 ounces, and that’s mostly weight from the battery.

Speaking of the battery, you’ll want to have two batteries for your hard hat light; one will typically last for the entire shift of nighttime paving while the other is charging in the ILLUMAGEAR Field Locker.

At a cost of about $180, this light-weight, circular light is a no-brainer for making specific workers more visible in the work zone. If you want to make your dump man stand out from other workers, this light on his hat will do the trick, along with a different colored vest. Remember that the approved safety orange vests can make the dump man stand out from the rest of the crew, and this light reflects nicely off that vest, too. Also put an LED wand in the

10 // december 2017

dump man’s hand to help him direct backing haul trucks and bring attention to himself.

If you want to give the QC/QA officer an extra ring of light to make him more visible when he’s working in the dark areas of the mat, this light on his hat will make him like a beacon back there. He is too many times alone in the dark, and this halo of light can catch a roller operator’s eye just as well as a passing driver’s eye.

Whatever you can do to add extra light or reflectivity to a worker is vital when they’re performing nighttime paving. That additional touch of safety could be what catches a drowsy motorist’s eye or a backing equipment operator’s eye to prevent a tragedy.

– By john ball

John Ball is the proprietor of Top Quality Paving & Training, Manchester, New Hampshire. He provides personal, on-site paving consulting services around the United States and into Canada. For more information, contact him at (603) 493-1458 or tqpaving@yahoo.com.

Upcycle:

(verb) \uhp-sahy-kuh l\:

To reuse material in such a way as to create a product of higher quality than the original:

Ultradrum A.R.E. 50%

UltraRAP 70%

I t seems any plant these days can recycle, but have you ever asked about the quality of the mix produced? With higher RAP percentages comes the problems of degradation of the mix.

That’s why Gencor developed the innovative UltraRAP and MegaRAP concepts, which can process 70% and 100% recycle without superheating and degrading the quality of the mix. The result is a noticeably superior and consistent mix.

So if you want superior high RAP capability, don’t just recycle ... Upcycle.

Call Gencor today and learn how you can “Upcycle”.

407.290.6000 or visit www. gencor.com

MegaRAP 100%

mix it up

The State of Flat and Elongated Aggregate Requirements for SMA H

How cubical do the aggregate particles used in Stone Matrix Asphalt (SMA) need to be to achieve acceptable performance? European specifications require SMA aggregates to have no more than 30 percent Los Angeles (L.A.) abrasion loss (AASHTO T96) and no more than 20 percent flat and elongated (F&E) particles when measured at a 3:1 ratio of length to maximum thickness (ASTM D 4791). However, these strict aggregate requirements were developed for use in Europe due to degradation issues with the use of studded tires for winter travel, and may not be necessary for most agencies in the United States.

The production of SMA aggregate is believed to cost approximately twice that of conventional aggregate production. In some cases, quarry managers have decided that it is not cost-effective to produce the aggregate that meets the cubical stone requirements. This has resulted in limited availability of SMA stone in some areas of the country. Therefore, it is essential to determine whether the need for such high quality aggregate products are necessary for satisfactory SMA performance.

Materials engineers generally believe that flat and elongated aggregates will result in unsatisfactory performance compared to more cubical stone because the elongated particles will break down during construction. The fractured particles will expose two uncoated faces that may lead to early stripping, raveling and fatigue cracking. But, a limited study conducted by the National Center for Asphalt Technology showed that fatigue resistance characterized with AASHTO T321 actually improved as the per-

cent of F&E particles increased.1 A lab study by Oduroh found that increases of up to 40 percent 3:1 particles did not adversely affect performance of Superpave mixes.2 Another concern with F&E aggregate is that the particles will become re-oriented due to the kneading action of traffic and result in rutting issues. To evaluate this concern, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) placed a test section on the accelerated loading test track at NCAT in 2009. The coarse aggregate for the SMA mix had 28 percent F&E particles measured at the 3:1 ratio using the GDOT test procedure. GDOT uses average thickness to determine F&E rather than the maximum thickness, which makes the requirements even more stringent than when the ASTM procedure is used. At the end of two years of loading, with over 10 million Equivalent Single Axle Loads (ESALs), total rutting was less than 3/16 inch (5 mm). The only apparent rutting was due to consolidation at the initial onset of trafficking.

If the increase in F&E particles causes the aggregate to fracture during production and placement, it is suspected the mix will begin to strip and result in cracking and raveling under heavy loading. However, an evaluation of smoothness, reported as International Roughness Index (IRI), and the pavement mean texture depth for the GDOT test section showed no change over the two years of heavy truck loading (See Figure 1).

There was also no measured cracking on the test section. The test track section showed that an SMA mix consisting of aggregate with up to 28 percent F&E performed well in rutting resistance, cracking resistance and resistance to raveling.

Figure 1. Mean texture depth and IRI performance for GDOT F&E test section 1.Buchanan, M. S., Evaluation of the Effect of Flat and Elongated Particles on the Performance of Hot Mix Asphalt Mixtures, National Center for Asphalt Technology Report 00-03, Auburn, AL, 2000.

2.Oduroh, P. K., K. C. Mahboub, and R. M. Anderson, Flat and Elongated Aggregates in Superpave Regime, Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, Volume 12, Issue: 2, American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, VA, pp 124-130. 2000.

12 // december 2017

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mix it up A recent study was completed for GDOT (NCAT Report 17-03R) in which SMA mixes designed with different percentages of F&E aggregate particles were evaluated to determine how critical this aggregate property is to performance of SMA mixes. Aggregates were obtained from three sources that produce both specially crushed aggregate for SMA production with F&E values ranging from 15 to 20 percent as well as aggregate for conventional asphalt mixes with F&E values ranging from 19 to 30 percent.

Two additional sources of aggregate with F&E aggregate particles ranging from 21 to 44 percent, using the GDOT F&E test procedure, were also used for comparing mix design and performance testing. All aggregate materials met the standard 10 percent maximum F&E based on the 5:1 ratio that is used for conFigure 2. Cantabro stone loss, percent ventional asphalt mixes.

For each of the aggregates selected, SMA mix designs were conducted and performance was evaluated for Cantabro loss (for cohesion and resistance to raveling) using AASHTO TP108, rutting with the Asphalt Pavement Analyzer (APA) using GDT 115 (which is similar to AASHTO T340), and moisture susceptibility. All mixes used 1.0 percent hydrated lime as an anti-strip agent as required by GDOT. APA rut testing was conducted at 64°C with a 100-pound vertical load and 100-psi hose pressure for 8,000 cycles. The APA test results were used to compare the relative rutting susceptibility of the mix designs as related to the percent F&E aggregate.

Moisture susceptibility testing was conducted according to GDT 66 test procedure. This procedure is similar to AASHTO T283 with three exceptions: Figure 3. APA Rut Depth vs Percent F & E • The vacuum saturation period is for 30 minutes and ed friction courses is typically 20 percent. The two sources with the a certain saturation level is not required; highest F&E values (sources D and E) had the lowest Cantabro loss.

• After 24 hours in a hot water bath, samples are placed in a refrigerator at 55° +/- 3.6°F for three hours before testing; and Rutting Susceptibility • The test loading rate is 0.065 in/min.

Resistance to rutting was evaluated with the APA rut test performed SMA mix designs from three aggregate sources that provide both according to GDT 115. Samples are prepared at 75 mm height with a SMA and non-SMA aggregate were prepared. In addition, SMA detarget of 5 percent air voids. The acceptable rutting threshold is a signs were performed using aggregate from two quarries that do not maximum rut depth of 5 mm after 8,000 cycles. All results were well meet the current requirements for SMA stone. within the 5-mm limit (See Figure 3) and a comparison shows that there is no significant relationship between rut depth and percent Cantabro Results F&E (R2 = 0.06). As shown in Figure 3 above, there is a slight trend The Cantabro test, AASHTO TP 108-14, is used to evaluate the cothat rut depth decreases as the percent F&E increases, but the small hesiveness and resistance to raveling of asphalt mixes. The procedifferences may be due to testing variability. dure requires placing individual compacted samples into an L.A. abrasion machine at 77° +/- 2°F and then rotating the drum for 300 Moisture Susceptibility revolutions at 30 to 33 rpm. The steel balls normally used in the One concern regarding F&E particles is that they may be detrimenabrasion procedure are omitted for the Cantabro test. After the test tal to performance due to a potential for stripping. It has been susis completed, the amount of stone loss is determined by comparing pected that F&E particles are more easily broken than cubical parthe difference in the original and final mass. The results from this ticles during production, placement and compaction. Some agenstudy show that all samples had relatively little stone loss (See Figcies do not allow vibratory compactors to be used during the comure 2). There is no specific maximum value of Cantabro stone loss paction process of SMA mixes for this reason. When aggregate for SMA mixes, but the maximum acceptable value for open-grad-

14 // december 2017

Retrofit Controls

A Heart Transplant for Your Plant

The control system: it’s the heart of your plant, reaching every aspect of your operation.

ASTEC Retrofit Controls expand and improve your capabilities with an all new control system customized to fit your needs. It’s like a heart

‘‘

Pictured from left to right Roy Bryant, Plant Foreman Ricky Pendergrass, General Superintendent Bailey Watkins, Asphalt Plant Manager

When our outdated controls started to give us problems, we knew it was time to upgrade.

We chose Astec because of the service.

Astec has the absolute best service.

your Includes an updated A Stransplant T E C , for IN C .plant. an Astec Industries Company 4101Control JEROME Center, AVENUE Power • CHATTANOOGA, TN 37407 USA • 423.867.4210 • FAX 423.867.4636 • astecinc.com Center and all new The new system communicates timing and electrical switch gear.

tolerances when switching mixes extremely well. Now we know when the mix is in tolerance; therefore, we waste less asphalt.

— Bailey Watkins Asphalt Plant Manager, Fred Smith Company

ASTEC, INC.

’’

an Astec Industries Company 4101 JEROME AVENUE • CHATTANOOGA, TN 37407 USA • 423.867.4210 • FAX 423.867.4636 • astecinc.com

mix it up Tensile Strength Results

particles are broken during construction, it not only changes the gradation, but also exposes two uncoated faces of aggregate particles.

The fractured, uncoated particles will make it easier for moisture to penetrate the particle and initiate stripping of the asphalt film.

The moisture susceptibility of mixes produced with low and high F&E properties was determined based on GDT 66. GDOT requires a minimum tensile strength ratio (TSR) of 80 percent after conditioned samples have been vacuum saturated, subjected to a freeze/ thaw cycle, and conditioned in a hot water bath. The freeze-thaw cycle is an accelerated procedure to simulate several years of environmental conditioning.

A statistical evaluation of results showed that there was a significant difference in control (unconditioned) tensile strength but not for conditioned strength or TSR values. However, the control

strengths were typically higher for the non-SMA stone mixes. This also explains why the three non-SMA sources with the highest F&E aggregate particles had the lowest TSR values. These results, shown in Table 1, “Tensile Strength Results,” indicate that the tensile strength of SMA mixes is not adversely affected by aggregate F&E values. Similar results were reported in NCHRP 425 which showed that F&E variations had no effect on moisture susceptibility.3

In some cases, quarry managers have decided that it is not cost-effective to produce SMA stone.

Conclusions

Conclusions from this research are based on the aggregate type and sources used in this study. It did not include sources with a combination of both high F&E and high L. A. abrasion loss.

• All mixes exhibited resistance to raveling with Cantabro loss being considerably less than 20 percent. Cantabro loss was lowest for mixes with highest F&E. • There is no significant relationship between rut depth and percent F&E particles. All rutting values for both SMA and non-SMA stone were well within the 5-mm tolerance specified.

• Non-SMA aggregates had higher control tensile strengths when testing for moisture susceptibility. Conditioned strength was lower for the high F&E aggregate sources but the differences were not significant. Generally, the moisture susceptibility of SMA mixes is not adversely affected by aggregate F&E values.

• As long as mix volumetric and performance criteria are met, the aggregate quality requirements used for Superpave and conventional asphalt mixes should be acceptable for aggregate quality requirements of SMA mixes. Aggregates used in this study meeting the 5:1 ratio requirements for F&E performed as well, or better, than aggregates meeting the SMA 3:1 ratio requirements.

– By Don Watson

Don Watson is the Lead Research Engineer at the National Center for Asphalt Technology, Auburn, Alabama. For more information, contact him at watsode@auburn.edu.

3.Brown, E. R., and L. A. Cooley, Jr., Designing Stone Matrix Asphalt Mixtures for Rut-Resistant Pavements, NCHRP Report 425, Transportation Research Board/ National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 1999.

16 // december 2017

OUR LONGNECK RECYCLE SYSTEM GOES THE DISTANCE. ROBUST DESIGN WITH MOBILITY IN MIND

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Asphalt Drum Mixers

project management

“Full depth blacktop included 8 inches of base course done in two lifts using 16,200 tons of P-401 HMA, and 4 compacted inches of surface course done in two lifts of 2 inches each,� according to Union Paving Foreman Jim Stayer.

Buffalo Airport Gets a Lift The Buffalo Niagara International Airport for the City of Buffalo, New York, received not just a lift, but many lifts of new asphalt on parts of Runway 14-32. The airport also got a new surface course for the entire runway, which measures 5,412 by 150 feet. It took more than 48,800 tons of P-401 surface course with polymer modified asphalt (PMA), P-401 course standard grade asphalt binder, and P-403 bituminous leveling course asphalt for the 120-day contract to improve and rehabilitate the second runway.

Taxiways and new drainage will also be improved.

Union Concrete and Construction Corp. of West Seneca, New York, won the contract that started in mid-April of 2017. They also got a hand from a group of manufacturers and companies who worked together to accomplish the strict tolerance requirements

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20 // december 2017

of the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA). The airport represents a gateway to Western New York State and portions of southeastern Ontario, Canada, which encompasses the famed Niagara Falls tourist destination. NFTA prides itself on delivering optimal standards of performance to the millions of visitors and residents alike.

It is with that same quality mindset that Union Concrete and Construction Corp., with a history dating back to its founding in 1950 by George Hill, would deliver a smooth surface for NFTA. The firm had worked at other airports, but this was its first runway contract in recent history. A lot of preplanning took place before the decision was made to involve current state-of-the-art equipment in the endeavor.

SERVICE, SERVICE, SERVICE

Union Concrete and Construction Corp. employees went to CONEXPO-CON/AGG in March 2017 to seek out tools for the job, including specific equipment and the contacts to service the equipment and help them reach their goals. With all the equipment and ancillary firms within walking distance of one another in Las Vegas, Union managers were able to make their selections.

In this case, they decided that local dealer Tracey Road Equipment would bring its Roadtec RP-190e paver with a Carlson EZR2 rear mount screed to the project. The RP-190e paver came equipped with MOBA-matic II grade and slope automation already installed.

Then the dealer contacted SITECH Solutions, a liaison and software company affiliated with Trimble® Inc., Sunnyvale, California.

The service aspect of the equation continued on site, once the equipment was delivered. Tracey Road’s service technician, John Messbauer, supported several service technicians from Carlson Paving Products who came from across the country to properly connect the screed.

Strategic Project Manager Anant Patel, with MOBA, fine-tuned the 3D leveling and quality control systems for the paver, which are compatible with the Trimble 3D PSC900 Paving Control System.

SITECH Northeast helped install the components required to upgrade to 3D, along with integrating a smooth flow from hardware, and software design to the Trimble Universal Total Station setup.

After several days of installation, and actual hands-on practice by paving the required test strips with Union crews that would use the equipment, rehabilitation could begin. Roadtec would again service the contractor by bringing Dale Bloodgood, the regional service technician, to overlook and tweak anything needed while the crew paved up to 26-foot-wide passes during the surface course paving.

PROJECT

According to Union Paving Foreman Jim Stayer, the project had multiple lifts in some areas; a single 3-inch mill-and-fill in other areas. Paving parameters depended upon how deteriorated the existing pavement was or how much of a profile change was needed.

“Existing condition” also determined how long each pass would be; they varied up to 2,000 to 3,000 feet long. Other areas, like the taxiways, were much shorter, meaning more sections—or phases— could be done in the course of a normal 12-hour shift.

“Mostly the sections had good phase lines where it made sense to phase to, and then switch to, another phase because the paving was done in sections,” Stayer said. “Sixteen hundred feet had to be completely rehabilitated to subbase on one end of the runway before intersecting with Runway 5/23. It would be 4 feet deep, which included rubblization of 27,000 square yards, full depth construction and repairs and full depth HMA pavement construction at the long runway stretch.

“Full depth blacktop included 8 inches of base course done in two lifts using 16,200 tons of P-401 HMA, and 4 compacted inches of surface course done in two lifts of 2 inches each.

“For 400 feet, there was a transition from full depth rehabilitation to just a surface course,” Stayer continued. “It was a profile change because you came from nothing up to 4 feet of profile change, all 150 feet wide. We had no problem, and used the 3D System with our Roadtec

The Trimble 3D Paving PCS900 Control System included the Universal Total Station on-site with the mast-mounted target on the tow arm of the paver with a Trimble MT900 prism on top and a slope sensor.

A Trimble CB460 control box displays the 3D design model and the position of the screed. www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 21

project management

As Stayer described, paving was done in echelon wherever possible, to prevent cold joints. Longitudinal joints could not be exposed for more than four hours. paver and Carlson screed laying 18 ½-foot wide passes throughout the base courses and first surface course.

“The RP-190e paver was always our primary laydown machine, but we had our older Cedarapids paver making passes on the outside lanes using a stringline where it wouldn’t be damaged from equipment. At least 75 percent of our paving was done with the Roadtec paver and the Trimble 3D system.”

As Stayer described, paving was done in echelon wherever possible, to prevent cold joints. Longitudinal joints could not be exposed for more than four hours. If the surface temperature of the mat cooled to less than 175º F, the crew was required to cut the joint back 3 to 6 inches for a clean, uniform vertical edge before matching it.

The solution to that issue was simple, but logistics were more challenging. They could never stop the pavers during their designated phases—no matter how long the pass. In some instances, passes were 3,000 feet long. Having done their homework, Stayer said they worked it out like this: “We try not to stop the machine at all from paving during the whole pass, including when going over 30-inch-wide raised concrete/light bars that had to be covered before paving. That meant the paver was traveling about 10 to 12 feet a minute, non-stop, with mobile transfer machines supplying the pavers. The transfer machines were MC330 Blaw-Knox units supplying the material from 28 to 34 trucks of

22 // december 2017

tri-axle or Flow-Boy configurations, depending upon our several haul truck suppliers. A round of trucks would be 600 to 650 tons of asphalt from the close-by plant. The plant has the capacity of 300 tons an hour, but with 1,200 tons of asphalt in silos before actual paving, there was no shortage of asphalt coming to the pavers before the end of the day. When we did the surface course, we were putting down 3,700 to 4,000 tons a day of the P-401 surface course, while paving 25 feet wide for much of the 31,200 tons needed.”

Rollers used were a combination of Hamm HD140, Sakai and Caterpillar steel drum rollers working behind both pavers. The Cedarapids paver used the stringline on one side for grade and slope while matching the joint placed by the RP-190e in front of it for the other side. The older paver was not Trimble/SITECH compatible. The roller operators compacted the joints as one complete lift.

Spec TolerancE Surface Course Mat Density 96.3 percent Base Course Mat Density 95.5 percent Joint Density 93.3 percent

project management EQUIPMENT CONFIGURATIONS

The Buffalo Niagara International Airport for the City of Buffalo, New York, received a new surface course for the entire runway, which measures 5,412 by 150 feet.

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According to Roadtec’s Bloodgood, the RP-190e paver was used for several features. It has a 13-inch high conveyer opening for excellent throughput with independent drive. The space between the conveyers has been minimized, which allows mix to be conveyed out as one uniform flow, reducing segregation.

The Carlson EZR2 rear mount screed was used for its weight and 4-inch chrome rods tightly fixed to a heavy-duty tubular frame, providing the extensions optimal rigidity. Large adjustable slide blocks and bushings are designed to eliminate flexing at wider widths, which was important for laying the surface course up to 26 feet wide. A 2- and 3-foot screed section was bolted and leveled on each side, with three 2-foot strikeoffs affixed, also added on each side. Six-foot auger extensions were attached to make sure the asphalt material went out to the endgates. The pre-strikeoffs kept a nice head of material all the way across. Screed vibration for additional compaction throughout was maintained during all paving.

The MOBA-matic II is a flexible leveling system for pavers that enables control of layer thickness and slope of the screed, in this case for a 1 percent slope across the width of the runway, with an ultrasonic sensor.

“Our tolerances were very tight,” Stayer said.

“We have a quarter of an inch in tolerance for straightness and half an inch tolerance for elevation, across the board. We went with the SITECH system because we didn’t want to put up a lot of stringlines that could be damaged with moving equipment across the 150-foot-wide runway. Trimble is compatible with SITECH and has an accuracy of a millimeter. There is no other product on the market today that is approved by the airport. Morning measurements had us running .0004 of an inch accurate, and even better other mornings.

“There are at least five guns or total stations that are read to about 400 feet,” Stayer continued. “As we pave, we get a reading from the first station and when we get close to the outer 400-foot range, I switch to the next gun [total station] while still paving. The measurements are sent to the target that is mounted on the paver. In this case, to not interfere with trucks or equipment in range, we have set it 14 feet high to receive the information. When the Trimble system is set up, it knows where it’s at and the paver knows what the screed height is. It controls the screed elevation through the guns that are placed alongside of the runway. The total station signals basically give us a finished grade and the automation on track.”

The Carlson EZR2 rear mount screed was used for its weight and 4-inch chrome rods tightly fixed to a heavy-duty tubular frame, providing the extensions optimal rigidity.

A lot of preplanning took place before the decision was made to involve current state-of-the-art equipment in the endeavor.

The Trimble 3D Paving PCS900 Control System included the Universal Total Station on-site with the mast-mounted target on the tow arm of the paver with a Trimble MT900 prism on top and a slope sensor. A Trimble CB460 control box displays the 3D design model and the position of the screed. There are also design files stored in the box on the paver for guidance.

Through radio commands, the grade and slope could be used to move the tow arms for the screed to adjust accordingly.

RESULTS

The project was done on time and with no discernable issues.

“We wanted to go with the stringless system, for economy and expediency,” Stayer said. “We wanted to go with the SITECH system and then went with the other equipment compatible with it. We have had very good support from Roadtec and the other equipment manufacturers and the dealer, Tracy Road Equipment. There was a learning curve for us all on the whole system used, but once we figured it out, everything has been very accurate. The paver and screed were also very user friendly and with the 3D system worked out very well.”

– By Gini McKain

www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 25

Producer profile

Wabash Valley’s crew paves in close quarters with a wide load on a two-lane road. Photos courtesy of Doug Collett.

Wabash Valley is All Asphalt, All the Time Whether it’s a two-lane highway, work along I-70, a college track or a parking lot, if it’s asphalt and it’s in west central Indiana, Wabash Valley Asphalt Company, Terre Haute, Indiana, is after it.

Although the company does some light excavation and its own stone work, its true focus is—and has always been—asphalt.

“We were set up to be an asphalt producer and paving contractor and we’ve been doing that for 80 or 90 years now,” Wabash Valley President John Collett said.

Wabash Valley Asphalt’s roots trace all the way back to 1933, when John Kelly and John White founded the company. In the 1960s, the Kelly family bought out John White and in 2001, the company became part of The

W

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Heritage Group, which also traces its roots back to the early 1930s.

Collett himself got his start in 1991. After he graduated from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute with a degree in civil engineering, he was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army.

“After I completed my service, I wanted to come back home,” he said. So, he interviewed at Wabash. “I didn’t have any experience in the industry, but I was lucky enough to get hired.”

Wabash, and the asphalt industry in general, worked out well for him. A few years ago, he became the president of Wabash Valley and he will also be the 2018 president of the Asphalt Pavement Association of Indiana.

Traditional Values, Modern Approach

Today, Wabash Valley has two asphalt plants—one in Terre Haute and one in Cloverdale about 30 miles from its other plant along the I-70 corridor—both of which are CMI plants with Dillman drums.

The two plants supply all of Wabash Valley’s crews’ needs, as well as supply asphalt to other contractors. About 85 percent of its mix is used by the company’s own crews, which run Cat, Roadtec and Vogele pavers, as well as Cat, Volvo and Hamm rollers.

The Terre Haute plant produces between 200,000 and 300,000 tons of mix annually, while the Cloverdale plant production var-

ies widely based on the volume of INDOT work in the area.

Although Wabash’s current plant in Terre Haute was built in 1997, the company has had plants in the area from the very beginning. The location of its second plant has moved a few times in the company’s history, but it’s been in Cloverdale since 2004.

Wabash Valley, a union employer, has around 60 employees when it’s busy but drops to around 20 during the winter.

Its paving season runs from April to November.

“Winter is maintenance and bidding work,” Collett said. “That’s when the mechanics are busy taking care of the equipment and we do most of our INDOT bidding.”

For Wabash, INDOT work accounts for nearly half of all the work the company does. Collett estimates another 20 percent goes toward city and county jobs, and then the remaining portion consists of commercial projects, churches and schools.

“If it’s in our area and it’s an asphalt pavement, we specialize in it,” Collett said. “We are an asphalt paving contractor and that is our wheelhouse.”

In addition to its “all-asphalt, all the time” mentality, the company also sets itself apart with a dedication to training and a no-nonsense, no-surprises approach.

Wabash Valley has two asphalt plants--one in Terre Haute and one in Cloverdale.

All Asphalt, All the Time

“That’s another reason we focus on paving,” Collett said. “We want our crews to be really, really good at what they do.”

When Wabash Valley shuts down its paving operation in late November or early December, it sends its mechanics to service schools. Paving foremen/superintendents go to schools offered by NAPA or APAI or a supplier school.

“We really take advantage of the fact that our associations and suppliers provide excellent training opportunities,” Collett said. “Every year, we look at what didn’t go so well the previous year and determine where we should focus our training.”

The specific training an employee will receive will depend on their individual needs, so before the season closes and training begins, Collett will sit down with the company leadership to determine what they need

Both of Wabash’s plants are CMI plants with Dillman drums. help with. That’s one benefit of having additional time during the winter.

“We’re not just bulk training everyone,” Collett said. “We try to train our employees with their individual needs in mind.

Not every employee is at the same stage of their career.”

In addition to sending crew members to training opportunities through associations and manufacturers, Wabash Valley also utilizes its own internal resources. “We have some pretty experienced people,” he said. The company has had its

own internal rolling and paving schools and brings outside experts to speak directly to its crews.

For example, to learn paver electronics, Wabash Valley called on two of its foremen and one outside expert to teach everyone on its crews how to use the electronics systems.

“That way, we can train all of our crew members on more advanced things in the winter, because you never know when you’re going to lose someone and it’s also good for their own professional development,” Collett said.

www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 27

Producer profile

The crew paves with Cat, Roadtec and Vogele pavers. Wabash Valley often sends its operators to manufacturer schools in the off-season.

When it comes to training, one of Wabash Valley’s greatest partners has been APAI. “They have sessions on many topics at their annual conference,” Collett said. Wabash usually sends around 10 employees to the conference to learn each December.

No Spec Surprises, No Nonsense

“What also sets us apart is our no-nonsense approach,” Collett said. “We’re quick and efficient and we pay a lot of attention to detail.

Most of the time, we quote it, we build it, and that’s just the way it goes. No surprises.”

Although every contractor goes in with a plan, Wabash cuts back on potential surprises by returning to survey the job prior to the start of the job. “We want to go check the lay of the land and make sure the job’s ready to go when we touch the ground,” Collett said.

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The Wabash crew paves at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Collett’s alma mater.

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WARM MIX ASPHALT TECHNOLOGY

Producer profile The employees pay special attention to drainage issues, which tend to be among the most significant surprises.

Despite this revisit, most of Wabash Valley’s bidding work is completed in the winter. Collett estimates that around 90 percent of the time, the company—despite being relatively small—will check out its jobs before even bidding them.

“It’s very rare that we don’t have feet on the ground before we bid something, unless it’s brand new and there’s nothing to look at,” Collett said.

APAI also helps Wabash achieve its goal of no-nonsense and no surprises by keeping the company aware of upcoming spec changes.

Most of the year, Wabash Valley is utilizing warm mix technology. They’ve been doing so for six or seven years.

Collett appreciates the improved compaction, longer haul distances and lower production temperature and the benefits that entails. Around 80 percent of the mix Wabash Valley’s plants run is warm mix.

“What normally happens as a new spec works its way through INDOT, APAI’s technical committee shares its input along the way and keeps their members informed so there are no surprises,” Collett said. “If I wasn’t involved in APAI, INDOT usually doesn’t talk about changes until they hit the spec book and I’d be trying to bid with a spec that I might not understand. As a member, I know it’s coming, I can plan for it, I can investigate the new specification in regard to economics and ease of production. Essentially, I get advance notice of any changes within the industry.”

For example, when INDOT released new specs regarding asphalt properties and volumetrics, Collett and Wabash were well informed that they needed an updated mineral filler system on its Cloverdale plant.

“Any question about any spec, any new issues, they usually have already done the research, interacted with INDOT about it, and understand the intentions behind the spec,” Collett said. “Even though INDOT has final say, they really stay involved so that they understand everything and know in advance how it’s going to affect all of our jobs.”

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INDOT work accounts for nearly half of all of Wabash’s work. Collett estimates another 20 percent goes toward city and county jobs, and then the remaining portion consists of commercial projects, churches and schools.

Wabash Valley puts a lot of stock in training its crew. Each winter, key crew members attend APAI’s conference, manufacturers’ schools and in-house training events to improve their skills and move up in their careers.

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meet the state exec

Trenton Clark and his family

Meet the State Exec: Trenton Clark Virginia Asphalt Association, Richmond, has been promoting the use of asphalt pavements in Virginia since 1952. Today, VAA boasts 25 producer/contractor members accounting for about 85 percent of the state’s firms.

In May, Trenton Michael Clark was promoted to VAA’s executive vice president. AsphaltPro sat down with Clark to discuss the association’s annual events and how it serves its members.

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About Trenton Michael Clark

Prior to joining VAA 7 years ago, Clark spent 12 years with VDOT and 5 years in private consulting. Since graduating with a BS in civil engineering from Virginia Tech, Clark’s entire career has been in pavement and materials engineering.

“Early in my career I remember telling my Dad, a former FHWA project engineer, about the positive virtues of concrete pave-

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ments: it withstood heavy loads, it did not need maintenance, etc.,” Clark said. “He spent his career building and repairing pavements for Eastern Federal Lands. He told me, ‘Do not just consider the initial construction, but how to maintain a pavement.

Whatever is built, someone will have to maintain in the future.’

That pearl of wisdom did not resonate until I was in the field trying to figure out how to repair deteriorated concrete pavements others had designed. The ability to design a repair, specify a material and perform maintenance activity quickly with asphalt made me a believer.”

Then, he got to know the people in the industry.

“From the man on the finish roller to the company president, they were great people,” Clark said. “They loved what they did–asphalt was in their veins! The same thing happened to me. I learned to love the industry and the people in the industry.”

How did you get started in the asphalt industry? Frankly, I stumbled into the pavements and asphalt industry. During the summer before my senior year at Virginia Tech, I worked at VDOT as a summer intern. Through that summer, I was exposed to various aspects of the highway construction business, but I wanted to build vertical structures. However, after graduation the jobs market was very tight.

I was fortunate to land a job with PCS/LAW Engineering. This was the pavement’s office for LAW once owned by Dr. Matt Witczak.

During my time with PCS/LAW I started learning about asphalt materials and pavements. From PCS/LAW, I went to work at VDOT in the Maintenance and Materials Divisions. Over the next 12 years, I designed numerous pavements and began working with the asphalt industry through my various roles. Many of these roles involved working in the field with maintenance personnel and contractors, not sitting behind a desk.

What are the top two or three ways you have increased membership in the association? Companies join associations for various reasons. For the VAA, we are a technical association. We do not lobby our legislature, instead we work closely with VDOT to promote quality. Producer and associate contractor members join our association in order to work more closely with VDOT on specifications and innovations. The VAA provides that opportunity. Many of our affiliate members are suppliers to our producer and associate contractor members, so they are looking to develop relationships with existing and potential customers.

To increase membership, we have added a Fall Expo to compliment our Fall Asphalt Conference. For non-members who wish to exhibit, we offer a discount on their exhibitor fee and on their first year dues if they join the VAA. We also offer a discount on first-year dues for companies who sponsor one of our scholarship charity golf tournaments.

What is your favorite method for recruiting new asphalt professionals to the industry in general? My favorite way to recruit new professionals is through my existing members. If they are happy with the value they get from the VAA, then they will enthusiastically recruit new people and companies. In most instances, they have the relationships–not me.

However, when a new company comes to Virginia, then I reach out. I describe the services we provide to members through technical expertise, networking opportunities and training/education.

About how many member asphalt projects do you visit per year/paving season? 10 to 15 About how many member asphalt plant tours do you assist/ are you a part of per year? 5 About how many member asphalt open house events do you attend per year? Depending on the year, typically 1 or 2.

About how many state agency or DOT meetings do you attend per year? Way too many to count. At least 50 either in person, GoToMeeting or Conference Calls.

In May, Trenton Michael Clark was promoted to VAA’s executive vice president.

Trenton (at right) alongside VAA Board Member Dennis O’Connor.

On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being none at all; 5 being very much), how much of a threat to your members’ marketshare and livelihood is the concrete industry in your state? 1. Most of the threat from the concrete industry is in the private/commercial market. In recent years, VDOT has only built one large scale concrete project (bonded and unbonded concrete overlay). VDOT is building an experimental pervious concrete parking lot and has built a few small roller compacted concrete projects. Many of these were experimental.

On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being none at all; 5 being very much), how much difficulty are your members having in finding qualified workers for their asphalt paving or production crews? 5. We have started VECAT – Virginia Education Center for Asphalt Technology, with our partners Germanna Community College and VDOT. VECAT is providing VDOT certification training and asphalt apprenticeship programs. Soon we will be offering

www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 33

meet the state exec national level are extremely supportive. They recognize the need to recruit and train a work force for Virginia’s asphalt industry.

What do you see as the most important part of your job as an executive director of a SAPA? The most important part of my job is understanding what tomorrow will look like for the asphalt industry and being able to communicate that to members and industry customers. So many outside factors influence the transportation industry–environmental and financial regulations, work force shortages, funding uncertainties, raw and recycled materials, etc. All of these will impact the industry of tomorrow and how they need to be positioned to respond and be profitable.

VAA puts on charity golf tournaments to raise money for scholarships.

Prior to joining VAA 7 years ago, Clark spent 12 years with VDOT and 5 years in private consulting. associates degrees in Asphalt Technology. By working with GCC and our members, we are exposing students, veterans and “those changing careers” to our industry.

On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being none at all; 5 being very much), how involved are your asphalt members in transportation issues such as funding and infrastructure improvements? 5 – We have very active members as individuals and as part of other associations.

Could you share an example of a time when your state APA hosted elected officials to educate them on the need for highway funding, asphalt materials, construction work force development, etc.? We have been working with elected officials on work force development through the VECAT program. It was through a Governor’s grant and VAA matching funds that the program was started. The Governor and others elected at the state and

34 // december 2017

What is the most challenging part of your job? The most challenging part of this job is addressing work force shortage. Many contractors in Virginia are having difficult times finding people willing and able to work. This is a tough, but extremely rewarding industry.

Many companies have two or three generations of a family working for them. But getting that new blood into the industry is getting harder and harder. We need to promote the more sophisticated aspects of our industry. People can make more than a living wage, a four-year college degree is not a requirement – but not all positions involve an air conditioner. We have to be smarter and more intentional to recruit the next generation of employees.

What do you find most enjoyable about your job as an executive director of a SAPA? The most enjoyable part of my job is seeing my members be successful, profitable and safe. While the VAA is a non-profit organization, our members are not. Are the specifications we help develop resulting in higher quality and better profit margins? If so, the customer and contractor win. Hearing about projects that went well is great. But most importantly, not getting calls or emails reporting plant or work zone accidents is the best.

The asphalt industry is our job – not our life. The people in this industry have families and friends. I enjoy knowing everyone went home safely. We must continue to stress quality and profitability, but safety must be inherent in whatever we do. We lead off with safety in much of our training sessions and meetings. We have seminars and host workshops focusing on information sharing in order to improve safety.

What has been the most rewarding experience for you during your time as the executive director? My time as the VAA Executive Vice President has been short, but I have been with the association since 2011. Being named the EVP in May 2017 was extremely rewarding, but the most rewarding overall has been the hiring of staff to fulfill the mission of the VAA. We now have internal staff and an external consultant.

We have launched VECAT. We have added an Expo to our Fall Asphalt Conference. This year we have held Regional Asphalt Seminars, an Anti-Trust Law Seminar and an Environmental/Safety Seminar. We have increased the member services. We have gotten positive feedback from inside and outside the membership for these initiatives. It is always rewarding to see the hard work pay off and be appreciated.

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international snapshot

International Quarrying

A customer in Region Limoges of France started testing with the Magna M-Terrain tires from Magna Tyres Group, headquartered in The Netherlands, on its Liebherr 586 wheel loader. The rock quarry put the machine through its paces for about 1,000 working hours, and still had 88 percent of the tread depth remaining. The dealer for the region is Profil Plus Groupe Simon. Photos courtesy Magna Tyres.

A

– From Magna Tyres

36 // december 2017

MOBILE MONITORING NEW FEATURES Recon system is a mobile monitoring system created

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Quantify Environmental Benefits of Asphalt

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When it comes to knowing what goes into its products, the asphalt industry is already transparent. Mix designs and job mix formulas are developed detailing the percentages of liquid asphalt, reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), fine and coarse aggregate, and aggregate type—all well-established materials understood by our customers. There are very few secrets or special ingredients in asphalt, unlike the products produced by many other industry sectors.

Environmental product declarations (EPDs) take this existing information one stage further and help to quantify the environmental characteristics of our material.

While not every construction material or sector is being asked for EPDs today, the expectation is that they will become increasingly more common.

To prepare the asphalt pavement industry to meet this future need, the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) has developed the Emerald Eco-Label, a tool that makes it easy to produce EPDs that reflect the environmental characteristics of the specific mix and the plant where it is produced. For example, it will help the industry quantify the environmental benefits of using recycled materials, particularly RAP, as well as the energy savings provided by warm-mix technologies.

Over the past decade, the asphalt pavement industry has made significant strides in the use of these materials and technologies, and EPDs help make sure we get the credit we deserve.

For example, during the 2016 construction season, warm-mix asphalt (WMA) made up nearly a third of all asphalt production in the United States. An EPD helps make clear how using warm-mix technologies to reduce production temperatures reduces the amount of fuel needed to produce each ton of asphalt paving mixture and the corresponding reduction in environmental impact.

Similarly, on average 20.5 percent RAP was included in asphalt pavement mixtures in 2016. An EPD shows the reduced environmental impact of using reclaimed and recycled materials compared to virgin materials.

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By Mike Acott

Over the past decade, green construction ratings systems, such as the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program, have grown notably. As of year-end 2015, nearly a quarter of total commercial square footage in the 30 largest markets in the United States was LEED certified.

Publicly owned buildings have long been required to meet green construction standards, but now local governments are encouraging developers apply green construction practices to all projects, commercial and residential. Miami Beach, Florida, for example, levies a fee of up to 5 percent of total construction costs on structures larger than 7,000 square feet unless they are LEED Gold certified.

EPDs may not be part of the current bidding process, but they are something we expect project owners to increasingly seek out, whether they are building public highways or commercial shopping centers.

For green construction ratings systems, EPDs are an increasingly important requirement. While porous asphalt pavements continue to earn credits for low-impact development and rainwater management, other credits within these systems are now based on the availability of EPDs. Emerald Eco-Label EPDs are fully compliant with the ISO 14025 and EN 15804 standards, which allows asphalt mix producers to provide the standardized, third-party verified documentation needed for a project to earn a full credit under LEED version 4.

Beyond LEED, the Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes, the International Green Construction Code (IgCC), and the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure’s Envision system all include incentives for projects to use EPDs. They are also used in the Greenroads rating system for transportation projects, and FHWA’s INVEST sustainable highways self-evaluation tool is working to incorporate EPDs in a future release.

Beyond these green construction systems, transportation and public works agencies in several states, most notably California, Oregon and Louisiana, are exploring the use of EPDs in their decision-making process. EPDs may not be part of the current bidding process, but they are something we expect project owners to increasingly seek out, whether they are building public highways or commercial shopping centers.

This is why the Emerald Eco-Label exists. Through an extensive process that involved cooperation from many NAPA members and the state asphalt pavement associations, NAPA conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) of the environmental impacts of asphalt pavement mix production starting with the production of raw materials through the mix production and ending at the point the finished mixture leaves the production facility. This cradle-to-gate LCA provided the background information necessary to develop the framework for the NAPA EPD program. The Emerald Eco-Label uses public data sets to the greatest extent possible to ensure transparency in how environmental impacts are calculated and allocated.

With the Emerald Eco-Label, these inputs are combined with plant- and mixture-specific information to output a third-party verified eco-label EPD. A company’s proprietary information is never disclosed; only the environmental impact in several, required categories.

Ours is an industry that has always been able to adapt and change to meet future needs. We have done so with the adoption of WMA, which has had the benefits of reducing energy use, extending the paving season, and reducing emissions. Similarly, the reclamation and reuse of asphalt pavement allows us to turn routine maintenance and resurfacing activities into a harvesting of raw materials for future pavements. EPDs help us quantify and get well deserved credit for the sustainability of our product and of our practices.

Mike Acott is the president of the National Asphalt Pavement Association.

American Asphalt employees and members of their families represented the largest group in attendance for the 3rd annual Ronald McDonald House Run. The event raised $50,000 for the local Ronald McDonald House.

A

Positive Culture Wins Over Strategy

By Jennifer Douglass

American Asphalt Company, headquartered in West Collingswood Heights, New Jersey, has a culture that does things R.I.G.H.T. This acronym stands for the company’s core values: Respect, Integrity, God honoring, Honesty and Trust.

A few years ago, the owner of the company, Bob Brown, joined a CEO roundtable group. This nationwide network of CEOs is called C12. It is a biblically based business group whose tagline reads “Building great businesses for an even Greater purpose.”

As Brown learned more and more through attendance at these monthly, all day meetings, he was led to discover the book, The Advantage, by Pat Lencioni. Lencioni’s book focuses on six key questions regarding the health/status of a business. Brown and his executive team worked through these key points, the first one being, “Why do we exist?”

When Brown reflected on this one point, he realized he couldn’t easily answer that first simple business question. With books in hand, Brown, along with each of his vice presidents, spent the next few months reading and meeting to coalesce around a common set of answers to these six seemingly simple questions.

42 // december 2017

“Those questions took us all down a road that had to be shaped with humility, dignity, alignment, mutual respect and trust for one another,” Brown said. “Out the other end of this exercise came unity and a shared sense of purpose that was truly meaningful. It was not about who can make the most hot mix tons.”

From that exercise sprung a renewed mission statement and core values. As the employees saw these and heard them spoken consistently, they started to sink in. All employees were told they could make decisions within their realm of authority and know the company would always have their back and support them, as long as they kept to the core values.

Pretty soon, at company meetings, anyone could recite the values if asked, “What does ‘RIGHT’ stand for?” Then, as the C12 Christian-based teachings crept into the company, a new pay-for-performance bonus system was instituted. Of the five measurables that key employees are measured upon, one is the use and reinforcement of core values. “Our managers give a $5.00 gift card to any employee who is caught doing something “RIGHT”. We track these cards and measure our company by its demonstrated behaviors aligned with

our corporate culture,” Brown said. “We are on track to give away over 600 of these cards this year.”

Over time, a culture gets stronger and becomes second nature. To help people associated with the company, a Caring Committee was formed. This employee-led committee is given company funds annually to give away, as they see fit, to help other employees in need. It’s an example of employees helping other employees get through life’s troubles.

The company also asks its employees annually for a list of charities that are important to them, where they are actively engaged themselves. Each charity is then funded with a company gift, given to the employee to present to his or her charity. This program has brought tears to the eyes of employees, who watched the charity receive funds, from their own hands.

“We don’t see ourselves as just another asphalt contractor; we see ourselves working here to help each other and the community.”—Bob Brown “This is a part of a life of giving some people don’t get to experience that often,” Brown said.

As employees become emboldened, more charity activity has followed. On the recommendation of Bob Moncrief, vice president of construction, American Asphalt Company recently sponsored the 3rd annual Ronald McDonald House Run. The monetary support was one thing, but 125 American Asphalt employees and family showed up on a Saturday to walk or run in support, and represented the largest group in attendance by far. The event raised $50,000 for the local Ronald McDonald House.

To quote another long-term employee, Dawn Turner, construction manager, “It’s great to work for a company where you actually cry more for all the good things that we do to help each other, than for the sad things.”

Brown feels the positive energy in the company is palpable.

“The asphalt work that we do allows us to serve and provide for others. That is why we exist. We don’t see ourselves as just another asphalt contractor; we see ourselves working here to help each other and the community.”

That is what is truly rewarding.

Jennifer Douglass is the marketing director at American Asphalt Co., West Collingswood Heights, New Jersey.

www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 43

We Can Bind Longer

Asphalt industry increases its environmentally friendly use of materials

By Sandy Lender

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Crews placed a mix with lower gyrations, higher liquid asphalt content and lower air voids than the standard state mix, on US62 in Woodford County, Kentucky.

They also tacked the butt joint with a trackless tack prior to placing the second lane to see how the longitudinal joint behaves over time. Photo courtesy PAIKY. Let me begin this exposition on the asphalt industry’s use of asphalt cement (AC) and additives in environmentally positive configurations with a diversion. This diversion is toward the fantastic. Picture, if you will, a wasteland in which the missing windows of high rise buildings mimic broken teeth. Along litter-cluttered sidewalks, vines escape their cracked pots to climb abandoned bus stops.

Rusted-out cars lean on flat tires. What has remained intact? The asphalt road upon which the weary traveler walks.

Industry veteran Mike O’Leary observed: “We seem to get stuck in this 20-year design concept. I know that we build roads that last longer than 20 years.” He often takes clients to review pavements that were built 30 or 40 years prior, to discuss best practices.

“They’re 40 years old and we’ve done nothing to them. Our industry is smart enough to know how to build a 50-year pavement, a 100year pavement. Let’s design these roads for what we know we can get out of them.”

One of the states considering a long-lasting design is Kentucky. This summer, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) prepared a pavement durability test section along U.S. 62 in Woodford County. Paul Del Rio of the Plantmix Asphalt Industry of Kentucky (PAIKY) confirmed officials at KYTC are hoping to see extended pavement life and reduced cracking, as well as a better perfor-

44 // december 2017

mance from the longitudinal joint. The mix was designed with only 65 gyrations and 3.5 percent air voids to accommodate a higher liquid asphalt content of 5.9 percent. Del Rio explained the total binder content is 0.2 percent higher than the mix would be at 4 percent air voids.

“The idea behind it is we have adjoining states going to a lower gyration mix to have a better quality, tighter mix without tearing up the aggregate,” Robert Semones explained.

He’s the branch manager at KYTC Division of Materials. “We’re also looking at the construction of the longitudinal joint. We have constructed a regular butt joint. In this section we’re going to apply a trackless tack up on the joint and bond it together with the other mat to see how the joint behaves over time with freeze-thaw cycles.”

Long-lasting designs are inherently green.

The longer a pavement can succeed without reconstruction, the longer its original carbon footprint can be spread over time. It makes sense that a well-constructed pavement that requires merely a Thinlay® or sealcoat 10 or 15 years into its life also requires fewer materials and less energy for its upkeep. Few in the asphalt industry have time for callbacks or re-working a finished pavement. Agencies wish to stretch pavement maintenance budgets as best they can. This means the creation of a long-lasting structure is beneficial on a

number of fronts. Obviously. From bonuses to warranties, agencies sometimes build incentives into contracts to ensure the longest-lasting, smoothest pavement results from each project.

Incentivize Quality

One way to gain quality is through welltrained operators. The Asphalt Institute, the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT), the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) and the Transportation Research Board (TRB) represent just a sampling of the organizations that offer educational webinars in the area of mix design and lab testing. In fact, TRB will conduct a webinar Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. Eastern that features research from the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 847: Variability of Ignition Furnace Correction Factors.

This webinar will discuss the significant influences that affect the variability of asphalt and aggregate correction factors for ignition furnaces. Courses and classes that help producers select, modify, test and blend materials for performance grade asphalt binders speckle the conference schedules and online options throughout the down-season.

In an industry that works on the low-bid system, does every producer see the need to pay a fee for continuing training? O’Leary

reminded readers that many agencies dictate specifications and post the minimum requirements for meeting the specifications.

Producers then create the mix and contractors place and compact the mat based on the requirements agencies designate. It’s done by the book, so to speak.

“We set thresholds that don’t let those professionals do their best work,” O’Leary suggested. “The workers in the field meet the minimum, when they are capable of doing more. We need to think about: is there another methodology we could let them try? Everybody blends materials to meet those specs at the least amount of cost, when, if we removed the limitations, everybody could blend materials to exceed those specs. We need to incentivize for better quality. We need everyone to think ‘how do we do it better?’”

O’Leary suggested such incentives to create longer-lasting asphalt pavements be leveraged at all levels. “Many states only use disincentives,” he said. (Consider the wellknown penalty for not achieving a percent of density.) “Colorado has incentives on almost everything,” O’Leary continued. “That’s a great step.”

Unless your state has a bonus available for meeting criteria on mix design, and then additional bonus for exceeding criteria, your lab techs may not be motivated to go beyond the motions for production. Does each member of your team, from estimating to compaction, understand how the materials in the mix, and their handling, affect the final outcome?

temperature on pipes. This is particularly important when dealing with emulsions. Agitation is a key component depending on what product is being stored and how much agitation is needed. Agitation can also help with heating such as decreasing the time to heat a tank or keeping high film temperatures on the heating coils from affecting the integrity of the asphalt.”

To help the plant manager, let’s look at some specifics that Jones brought up there.

As he intimated, not every liquid product requires agitation. If you have a ground tire rubber (GTR) modified asphalt, you will want agitation. If you have a polymer modified asphalt (PMA), you may not want agitation, which can cause separation of the polymer chain bond in some cases.

Producers bring more materials into the mix design equation not only to increase the use of environmentally sound products— such as RAP, RAS, WMA additives—but also

What’s in This?

One of the benefits of attending webinars and continuing education is, of course, learning how to handle and manipulate materials to effect the best mix. Many of the courses will help techs understand how the materials’ performance characteristics influence the final mat, too. Making the project the best it can be doesn’t happen merely by meeting spec. The members of the team, from mix designer to finish roller operator, need to understand what they’re working with. They need to know what affects the materials. For example, the plant manager has stored liquid material that he must divert from Point A to Point B for optimum production.

Greg Jones of Heatec Inc., an Astec Industries Company, Chattanooga, Tennessee, explained: “Proper heat and agitation are the two that come to mind first. This could be broken down into more sub-categories such as hot oil temperature as it relates to film

www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 45

to increase the use of the additives that improve the performance of these materials.

Lennie Loesch, the CEO of Stansteel Asphalt Plant Products, Louisville, Kentucky, explained this perfectly.

“But, in recent years, the significant initiative has been to use more RAP and RAS

Increase RAP without Breaking the Bank 1. Add specialized bins You can add RAP or RAS bins to be able to screen and have different sizes of material that meets the gradation requirements in the mix design.

2. Look at what’s allowed Consider the use of RAS, which is permitted in some areas, limited in others. Shingle tear-offs are not allowed in some landfills, and offer anywhere from 15 to 38 percent liquid AC content.

3. Heat it up Look at plant modifications to help superheat the aggregate material. You may be able to keep your existing dryer and merely convert it to a more efficient design for processing RAP without environmental concerns such as blue smoke or high temperatures to the baghouse.

4. Try foaming Investigate a correctly designed foaming system to help coat all the aggregate and RAP while lowering temperatures of the final mix.

5. Check out rejuvenators There are many rejuvenators that can restore a significant amount of the flexibility and life in recovered binder.

6. Blend it Consider the use of a multi-purpose blending system that will let you add multiple liquids instantaneously and inline, depending on your desired end result.

7. Meter and weigh For batch plant owners, consider and evaluate the use of metering and weighing systems that can meter RAP directly into the pugmill, or have a modification kit to help.

Source: Stansteel Asphalt Plant Products

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while making an even better quality product,” Loesch said. Our industry has an impressive statistic with the largest volume of recycle product throughout North America.

“What many innovative contractors have realized is that if achieving this great statistic wasn’t enough, we need to keep working to increase the use of RAP and RAS and, of course, improve mix material quality, pavement life and sustainability. There are some of the better designed plants that can consistently run 50 percent RAP, and more, every day on every product. In fact, there are even some cases where a customer runs a nominal 55 percent RAP and 8 percent RAS, and has produced this mix for years to supply a number of city projects. That is great if you have the capital for an all-new plant, but there are many ways to improve and upgrade existing plant facilities.

“One of the more innovative large contractors in North America instituted a program on their double-digit number of asphalt plants to increase the RAP use at each plant over a three-year period by 5 percent per year average so that they would increase their use by over 15 percent over their current level.

Contractors such as these, and others, have a number of ways to increase their RAP use.”

(See Sidebar “Increase RAP Without Breaking the Bank.”)

To increase RAP use, agencies have stepped up their investigations of rejuvenators—also called recycling agents. These additives are typically designed to soften the recovered binder in RAP and RAS. They “de-age” or restore youth to the liquid AC that has been exposed to the elements over the years.

All of these extra elements bring more components into the equation for the plant manager to monitor. This applies to aggregate, mineral bins, liquid tanks, and all manner of inputs.

Jay Bianchini, Ph.D., VP of Operations for Collaborative Aggregrates LLC, Wilmington, Massachusetts, discussed the addition of the Delta S recycling agent, specifically.

“Since Delta S can be used as a WMA and also as a rejuvenator, without the need for a separate anti-strip, there are those that would prefer a single tank storage, which allows them to use it according to the need of a particular mix,” Bianchini explained. “On the other hand, some want to minimize user error at the plant and prefer Delta S to be pre-dosed in the liquid binder when it is received. With Delta S, all of the above is possible. For those that choose to dose at the plant, Delta S can be inline blended with the liquid binder…. With

the help of the team at NCAT, we have shown that, with a plant produced mix, whether it is inline blended or sprayed on the recycled material, compaction and air voids were identical. Delta S is liquid at room temperature, therefore it does not have to be heated prior to introduction.”

Let’s also consider fractionated RAP (FRAP) and multiple gradations of aggregate going into the mixes. Mitch Duncklee of Systems Equipment, Waukon, Iowa, reminded readers that as few as 10 years ago a plant with 14 total feeders would have been considered huge. Today, plants with 16 or more aggregate feeders are becoming increasingly common. Systems Equipment launched an expanded version of its ADP-100 asphalt drum mix blend computer in September 2017 in response to the industry trend. It accommodates up to 24 feeders, 64 discrete inputs and outputs, and 20 analog inputs from metering equipment. “From depletion pods, leveling silos, impact flow meters, and even fuel-flow monitoring, the number of different control types in the ASP-100S is astounding,” Duncklee said. (Read more about the ADP100 blending computer on page 73.)

Systems Equipment isn’t the only OEM looking at producer expansion. Heatec’s Jones shared, “We are seeing more asphalt binders required, which in turn is requiring more blends in some cases. The trend, which makes sense, is to dedicate a tank to a product.

This helps eliminate contamination of products.” (Read “Avoid Dilutive Effects of AC Storage Tank Residue” from the September issue at http://theasphaltpro.com/avoid-dilutive-effects-ac-storage-tank-residue/ for guidance.)

To help terminal customers with increased AC blends and modifiers, Jones mentioned two concepts. “First, note the mention above about the dedication of a tank to a product that has caused the need for more automation. Automation allows tank selections to happen more quickly and with less chance of putting the wrong product in the wrong tank by way of automated valves.

“Second, in a lot of cases, different AC blends will have the same modifiers, which are accomplished by having different percentages of modifier content to AC content,” Jones continued. “We have been doing more in-line blending. By having higher percentage blends in storage, terminal operators are able to blend lower percentage in-line while filling a truck, which has many advantages, but also requires more automation.”

The Cautions

Our industry is innovative, yet careful, in its use of materials and its environmental sustainability. The increased interest in rejuvenators to enhance higher percentages of reclaimed binder in mix designs offers an example of industry’s commitment to proceeding with caution. One source mentioned the caution agencies use concerning recycled engine oil bottoms (REOB) as another example. In recent years, producers have had the opportunity to incorporate REOB as a portion of the binder in some mixes. At this time, some state DOTs are taking a step back from the practice.

He listed Kentucky as one state that no longer allows REOB; the bottoms go into the roofing market in that state instead of the paving market. In some cases, the re-refining is done very well, of course, but in other cases, “There are so many additives that could be residing in the oil,” a source explained. “Coolant, heavy lubricants, additive materials, engine metal particles— these are strained out during processing, but you have to ask how much gets removed versus how much remains in the oil?”

To better manage what’s going into the mix, producers are often electing to blend on their own. O’Leary pointed out, a large producer with whom he works has 64 formulas of blending to make a base asphalt for all its products. The blends include polymers. The producer blends for the purpose of meeting performance grades. “The goal is to make a mix that lasts longer.”

It may be going back to the drawing board, but it’s going back to a board filled with quality materials. O’Leary spoke of the excellent quality of crudes that came out of Venezuela, specifically. He is of the opinion that the crudes out of Venezuelan “made the best asphalt ever.”

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, imports of petroleum bitumen from Venezuela have been on the rise since 2012, when we imported 11,241 metric tons.

In the year 2016, we imported 348,734 metric tons.

Bob Sedon, the VP—Asphalt Marketing, United Refining Company, headquartered in Warren, Pennsylvania, and chairman of Asphalt Institute, spoke highly of Canadian crudes. “Western Canadian heavy crudes make excellent asphalt binder,” Sedon remarked. “New pipeline projects aimed to add capacity and improve safety for transporting heavy crude are gaining

regulatory support and being implemented to bring these crude oils to the United States. According to an Alberta Department of Energy report, there are over 2.2 trillion barrels of oil in place in Alberta and Saskatchewan.”

Sedon shared good news about the blends we can create. “There are numerous high-quality binders produced in the United States. I encourage mix producers to talk with their binder suppliers to understand

how their binders are produced. There are a number of things that affect how quality-improving additives, such as polymers, react with binders. Knowing how the original binder is produced gives mix producers confidence wen they modify their mixes. Purchasing a quality performance grade binder, produced from a crude oil refinery vacuum tower, is an excellent starting point for producing mixes that create quality structurally-sound pavements.”

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Improved Efficiency INCREASED PRODUCTION V-Flights Shower Material Along the Edge of the Notch as Well as the Tip

V-flights Allow for a More Even Veil of Material

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT ASTECINC.COM/VPAC

V-PAC

S TA C K T E M P E R AT U R E C O N T R O L S Y S T E M V-Pac U.S. Patent No. 8,863,404 B1

To meet market demand, we change mix design often. The frequent changes push our plants to the limit. ASTEC suggested we add the V-Pac stack temperature control system. We started using the V-Pac system and, without a doubt, it has improved efficiency and increased our production capability.

Clarke DeHart,

Production Manager, CR Jackson Inc. Operating the V-Pac Stack Temperature Control System since 2011

Maryland Paving Gets Started on a New SMA Concept

By Sarah Redohl

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It was only fitting when Maryland wanted to test out fiberless, warm mix SMA that Maryland Paving would be involved.

Maryland Paving has been supplying hot mix asphalt since 1964. The company operates six asphalt plants across the state of Maryland.

Since the Timonium, Maryland-based company first started making SMA in the early ‘90s, they’ve produced between 750,000 and one million tons of SMA total.

And, in late May 2017, Maryland Paving embarked on a new SMA concept.

It performed a pilot project incorporating warm mix SMA with Evotherm on Interstate 195, the main connection between Baltimore/ Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport and highways like I-95, I-97 and Maryland 295 that lead to the cities of Baltimore, Annapolis and Washington, D.C.

Step Up Your SMA Game

Maryland Paving has produced between 750,000 and one million tons of SMA since they began making the mix in the '90s.

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When Maryland first began pioneering the use of Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) in the United States nearly two decades ago, Maryland Paving General Manager and Executive Vice President Jeff Graf was there.

“Maryland was a leading state in the use of SMA,” he said. “And Maryland Paving was among the first companies to be paving SMA in the state.”

It’s no surprise that SMA mixes require a higher AC content than traditional mixes.

“SMA is a stone-on-stone contact mix, so it supports extreme traffic loads,” Graf said. “Unlike a conventional dense graded mix that’s evenly graded coarse to fines, SMA is a gap-graded mix with a lot of stone.

We need a high asphalt cement content and filler to make a thick paste to hold the aggregate together.”

“With that, you have to stabilize that during the mixing, hauling and laydown process until you get it in place and compact it,” Graf said. “And we used cellulose fiber to do that.”

However, it’s also possible to employ warm mix processes to stabilize SMA’s higher AC content while still achieving compaction. In an effort to go green, save money and eliminate the need for fiber at the plant, Maryland Paving was eager to test out the process.

Don’t Fix What Isn’t Broken

Despite the potential of warm mix SMA, it took some time for the state to be ready to try out the new process.

“We’ve had some very, very good performing SMA pavements in Maryland,” Graf said. “When something works that well, you’re more reluctant to make a change. But if we can do a better job protecting the environment while doing the same class of work, then it’s time for a change to happen.”

When Maryland Paving began to see the success of warm mix processes for dense graded mixes, they decided to start “dipping our toe in the water with specialty mixes, including SMA,” Graf said.

Two years prior to its pilot project on I-195, Maryland Paving used warm mix SMA on a portion of Interstate 83 into Baltimore.

The crew paved the travel lane with conventional fiber-laced SMA and paved the shoulders with warm mix technology.

Working alongside the State Highway Administration, the crews paved the warm mix SMA at multiple temperatures, monitoring the compaction and workability of the mix at each temperature. After the project was paved, SHA and Maryland Paving continued to monitor the shoulder’s performance.

“We haven’t seen any differences between the shoulder and the roadway,” Graf said.

“So we took that experiment and said, ‘Let’s move it onto a more traveled roadway’.”

The I-195 project turned out to be a perfect candidate for the next pilot project.

“We didn’t want to test it out on a large scale project, so we were really fortunate to win a 6,000-ton project on a major artery to BWI Airport,” Graf said. Plus, the 6000-ton project was more of an improvement project—there was no milling on the existing surface—it was a straight 2-inch overlay.

“It was a relatively small project when you look at interstate work, but it was an ideal project for this investigation,” Graf said.

“It was the perfect opportunity to see what a heavy traffic load would do to this mix.”

Maryland Paving met with SHA to ask to test out the new method on the project.

“We looked at a lot of research out of Rutgers University to validate what we wanted to do, and SHA thought it would be worthwhile to investigate its performance,” Graf said.

Maryland Paving Goes Fiber-Free

In addition the environmental and cost-saving benefits of running warm mix SMA, the process also meant that Maryland Paving could cut the extra step of adding fiber to the mix. Removing the handling and storage of fiber also saved the company money.

To produce fiberless SMA, Maryland Paving added Evotherm, a warm mix additive from Ingevity.

“We’ve done other experimental projects with Ingevity, and we’ve had good results

www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 51

Maryland Paving operates six asphalt plants across the state of Maryland, including this one in Rosedale. working with them,” Graf said. “They have great technical staff. And with our history with them, we were convinced that they were the right partner to go into this project with.”

Maryland Paving purchased Evotherm that had been pre-blended at the refinery in an effort to make the production process as normal as possible.

“Anything we can do to make a process run our plant more like normal, we’ll do because it’s what our guys are used to,” Graf said. “And I had a confidence that the refinery had the equipment to better blend it and they were certifying that end-result product.”

“At Maryland Paving, and in the industry in general, we do anything we can to be more green,” Graf said. That’s why the company participates in NAPA’s Emerald Eco-Label Program, which aims to provide credible environmental data to customers, including engineers, architects, users and producers.

Through NAPA’s Emerald Eco-Label program, plants can create plant-specific and mix-specific EPDs, or Environmental Product Declarations. EPDs are a standardized way to quantify how sustainable a product is through a green construction rating system, like LEED, Greenroads, or INVEST initiatives.

On many products, having an EPD has become crucial and even required on some projects, like LEED version 4 projects.

52 // december 2017

Using fiberless SMA also allowed Maryland Paving to eliminate a second unnecessary job at the plant: cleaning out truck bodies. Due to the high AC content of SMA mixes, they’re already a bit harder to haul and more likely to stick to truck beds.

“We were totally surprised by how clean the truck beds came out time and time again,” Graf said.

Practice Before You Pave

Of course, to prepare for the new mix, Maryland Paving performed many test trials, including its I-83 project.

For example, if a project involves an asphalt parking lot, the project can get credits toward its LEED status if the asphalt contractor doing the work can prove the mix’s environmental sustainability.

NAPA’s Emerald Eco-Label program comes in handy. A plant can input data about each asphalt mix and generate an EPD to share with their customers to help them earn green rating systems credits, like in the example above, that take into consideration every step of the asphalt production process, including materials, transportation and production.

The program can also help manufacturers identify inefficiencies in fuel use or material selection.

“We were initially put out there as a ‘bad’ industry and we’ve had to prove that we’re actually a clean industry and a green

“We did a lot of lab work before taking our results to the plant, and we did some test runs with smaller tonnages,” Graf said.

“We at the plant had a high level of confidence that we were heading in the right direction and everything was going to work.

We’ve had a lot of experience with SMA, so we knew right away if something wasn’t doing what it should.”

At the plant, Maryland Paving did a normal battery of tests, including asphalt extraction, volumetrics testing, gradation, wash sieve analysis and drain down tests on all quality control sampling.

“In Maryland, we have a PWSL spec and we do field sampling of the mix, where the split sample comes back to the plant and goes to the agency,” Graf said. “We did multiple samples on this, some of which went to Evotherm, and everyone did quite a battery of tests on them.”

On the first night of production, on the 195 project representatives from Evotherm and SHA personnel were at Maryland Paving’s plant as the new mix was made.

After the test sections were done, Maryland Paving’s plant was proven right: “It was as good if not better than conventional SMAs we’d run,” Graf said. He added that one of the most significant challenges in SMA production is avoiding areas heavy on asphalt. “But, we had virtually no heavy spots, whatsoever.”

Although Maryland Paving’s plant crew knows how to mix SMA very well, mixing it at a lower temperature did require some

industry,” Graf said. “Anything we can do to promote that, we should.”

Maryland Paving’s six asphalt plants are also recognized as part of NAPA’s Diamond Achievement program. The program pushes members to continuously improve and begins with a self-assessment of six aspects of plant and site operations, including appearance, operations, environmental practices, safety, permitting and regulatory compliance, and community relations. The commendation is then verified by an outside third party.

“It was really good to go through the process,” Graf said. “We thought we were doing everything right, we found things we could have been doing better. If you participate with integrity, the programs will really help you through things you can improve on.”

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adjustment, not only of the mixing temperature but also of the crew’s mindset.

“It’s hard to see 300 on that heat gun and not think we’re going to have big mess, and instead realize that it’s possible to work it and compact it at that temperature,” Graf said.

When Maryland Paving runs standard SMA with fiber and PG76-22, they would mix it at temperatures between 330 and 340 degrees. With the fiberless mix, Graf estimated they were running at temperatures between 300 and 305.

Even on this small pilot project, Graf estimated that the company saved between 5 and 8 percent on fuel producing the fiberless SMA compared to traditional SMA. “When all is said and done, the cost of Evotherm additive is offset by the cost of the fiber, and then we also save on energy costs and we reduce our environmental impact,” Graf said.

But, using Evotherm did present another challenge: if they used Evotherm in the SMA mix, the mix would only require 6.1 percent liquid AC. However, the state was requiring that SMA mixes be at least 6.5 percent liquid AC. “We had to get their blessing, because it was going outside of their comfort zone,” Graf said. “But with the help of Ingevity and with the research from Rutgers, they were comfortable enough to try out this investigative project.”

This summer, Maryland Paving tested out a new SMA concept, utilizing warm mix technology to eliminate the need for cellulose fiber.

The Proof is in the Pavement

Despite the benefits of this new process, Maryland Paving and Maryland DOT are waiting to see how the new mix design performs over time.

“As time goes by, we’ll re-core it to see if there’ll be increased density,” Graf said.

SHA will be performing a whole gamut of tests to evaluate the cores from the pilot project against it performance testing criteria, he adds.

But so far, the results look good.

“Performance-wise, it’s doing just as well as conventional SMA,” Graf said. Maryland Paving collected 10 cores for every 1,000 tons of mix and when all the data was collected, the average density was 95.3 percent. “Right in the middle of the spec we wanted it to be.”

“I’m sure that after some more studying and data collection that Maryland will look into expanding this on a case-by-case basis,” Graf said. “We’re watching its performance before jumping in and going hog-wild into potentially ruining something that’s worked so well in the past.”

54 // december 2017

The company’s pilot project was a 6,000-ton project along I-195 to BWI Airport.

The I-195 project turned out to be a perfect candidate for the pilot project. “We didn’t want to test it out on a large scale project, so we were really fortunate to win this project,” Graf said.

Although more review over time will be necessary, Graf said the initial results of the project were impressive. “Performance-wise, it’s doing just as well as conventional SMA,” he said.

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Industry Uses Clean Diesel From Diesel Technology Forum

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At the inaugural North American Commercial Vehicle Show (NACV) in Atlanta, in September, heavy-duty engine and vehicle manufacturers displayed continued innovation and support for clean diesel technologies. With more than 400 exhibitors on the floor, a significant “show of force” for clean diesel was on display. This support included notable new product announcements from Cummins, Volvo, Navistar, Daimler and others.

“Even as manufacturers explore new powertrains to meet the needs of their customers, there is no doubt that clean diesel will remain the prime mover for the trucking industry, offering the greatest combination of value to truckers in the form of increasing efficiency, reliability, performance, and economical operation and ownership,” said Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel

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Technology Forum. “The new environmental performance achieving near-zero emissions further ensures that clean diesel is a solution for achieving current and future clean air and efficiency standards.

“We’re seeing continuous improvement in efficiency and performance of clean diesel power,” Schaeffer continued. “Manufacturers are working toward meeting the challenge of the Phase 2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction and Fuel Economy rules by closer integration and optimization of engines and transmissions, along with improving emissions control system design and total vehicle integration. Additional gains in efficiency and further reductions in emissions will define the next generation of clean diesel power.”

This year, ACT Research analysts expect the North American Class 3-8 truck market to come in at more than 250,000 vehicles. According to projections by The Fuels Institute, diesel will remain the predominant fuel for commercial vehicles, even in 2025 when it maintains 96 percent of the medium- and heavy-duty market.

“Diesel powers well over 90 percent of all commercial trucks on the road today,” Schaeffer said. “Of that population, approximately 30 percent of today’s on-road fleet is powered by the newest generation of clean diesel technology. This new technology is more fuel efficient and lowest in emissions, resulting in 4.2 billion / $2,640 saved per truck per year, and overall emission reductions of 43 million tonnes CO2, 21 million tonnes NOx and 1.2 million tonnes PM,” Schaeffer said. “If every one of America’s Class 3-8 trucks on the road today was powered by new generation of clean diesel technology, the fuel savings, emission reductions and cost savings across the fleet would be astounding.”

Announcements at NACV indicate that manufacturers are seeing strong orders for the new generation of commercial trucks with the newest generation of clean diesel power through the end of 2017 and into 2018, as truckers look to upgrade their fleets and expand their service offerings.

Fast Facts • Nearly 3M heavy-duty diesel commercial vehicles powered by the latest generation clean diesel engines are on the road today.

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• According to @USDOT, one ton of NOx may be eliminated by investing $20,000 in clean diesel vs $1M in alternative fuel infrastructure.

• According to @EPA, replacing a MY 2007 Class 8 drayage truck with a MY 2010 or newer diesel can reduce NOx emissions by 221 pounds.

• The newest clean diesel trucks have 99 percent lower NOx emissions than previous generations, along with 98 percent fewer particulate matter emissions.

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Bring New Workers to Your Company

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By Sandy Lender

Results of an industry-wide survey of 1,600 respondents conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) and Autodesk this summer showed 70 percent of construction firms reporting difficulty in filling hourly craft positions. The positions represent the bulk of the construction workforce. The responses represent a labor drought the asphalt industry has become well aware of, and that everyone—from hiring personnel to federal government agencies— wishes to address. The shortage of qualified workers has short and long-term ramifications for more than individual companies.

“In the short-term, fewer firms will be able to bid on construction projects if they are concerned they will not have enough workers to meet demand,” AGC CEO Stephen Sandherr said. “Over the longterm, either construction firms will find a way to do more with fewer workers, or public officials will take steps to encourage more people to pursue careers in construction.”

Members of the asphalt industry are taking those steps, and sharing their ideas here. The asphalt company owner or hiring manager looking for new crew members or a new office worker at headquarters has not only a company to pitch to future candidates—he or she has an entire industry and culture to advertise. Luckily, your human resources manager isn’t doing this alone.

Work with SAPAs

Each month, a different executive director from a state asphalt pavement association shares his or her background and viewpoints in the pages of AsphaltPro. One of the topics we explore with each SAPA leader relates to the workforce and how that particular state brings new people to the asphalt industry. Jon Young is the executive director for the Hawaii Asphalt Pavement Industry (HAPI) who recently discussed how he helps his member companies recruit.

“The University of Hawaii College of Engineering has a career fair on campus,” Young said. “HAPI will have a table there to publicize jobs in the industry. My idea is we would have an explanation of what HAPI is. Then I had a human resources exec at one of our member companies write up a list of jobs with descriptions and qualifications for a handout.”

Young shared that this career fair, held on a college campus, targets engineers and project managers most directly. Another career fair, hosted in conjunction with the General Contractors of America (GCA), focuses on high school students and targets youth who

60 // december 2017

may be interested in more hands-on equipment and labor work. It’s a Construction Career Day. “These are fun things for me,” Young said. “I like getting our industry into the public eye. Plus we want to get the word out about HAPI.” Hawaii isn’t the only state offering the opportunity to reach youth in a job fair setting. Florida has four chapters of the Construction Career Days serving the North, Central, Tampa and South Florida regions, hosting events that encourage job seekers to consider a career in construction, and offering scholarships for students in those counties. The CCD program began in 1999 and is everywhere.

“The nationwide educational outreach program is designed to cultivate interest in high school students for the wide variety of skilled construction careers. The local events give students the chance to get a feel for the field by participating in activities like operating machinery and speaking to experienced industry veterans. CCD events are organized by transportation industry partners from the public and private sectors. Nearly all 50 states hold at least one CCD event. Currently, Florida holds CCD events in Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Tampa and Orlando areas. Partner agencies and organizations responsible for the event include the Florida Department of Transportation, the Florida Transportation Builders Association, the Suncoast Utility Contractors Association, the National Association of Women in Construction and the Federal Highway Administration.”

The Lehman-Roberts Company, Memphis, Tennessee, participates in the Soulsville USA Job & Resource Fair in the fall, where reps from many companies in the area set up tables to take resumes. As we were preparing this article, the human resources team at Lakeside Industries Inc., Issaquah, Washington, was participating in a number of job fairs. These are events you can tackle single-handedly, but companies in the asphalt industry are fortunate to have the SAPA network to help coordinate booths or time, and to share costs at these events. As some SAPA directors have learned, events in the past have been expensive ventures when heavy equipment and insurance riders were part of the equation. Now there are options such as career fairs hosted by local workforce development boards that allow federal funding to cover costs.

Jim Purcell, the technical director of the New Jersey APA, shared that he will participate in such an event hosted by the Mercer Coun-

Jon Young is the executive director of the Hawaii Asphalt Pavement Industry (HAPI), and he encourages members of the organization to publicize jobs in the industry as a whole. Here he mans the HAPI table at a University of Hawaii College of Engineering Career Fair on campus Oct. 18, 2017. ty Development Board, of which he is a member, at the end of November. The opportunity is not necessarily for recruitment, he explained, but for education.

“We can’t put the jobs and companies in front of candidates first,” Purcell said. “There’s no point in having them fill out an application and then find out they’re not qualified for the job. That’s a waste of the company’s time.”

Instead, an event such as the career fair where organizations introduce job types within the industry shows job-seekers what’s available. Purcell is assembling a poster that shows not only the types of jobs available in the asphalt industry, but pay ranges for those jobs in the New Jersey region.

The career fair also gives industry the chance to direct job-seekers to financial and training help.

“There are apprenticeship programs available to them,” Purcell said. “The federal government has monies available to train them.

At the event, organizations can talk to them and then direct them to the County Workforce Development Board table where they can get apprenticeship and financial help.”

Youth, and even adults, who participate in an apprenticeship, could be getting a tax break to help offset expenses soon. As of press time, H.R. 3395 had not yet moved past its introduction to Congress, although the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) reported Nov. 3 that the bill had 60 co-sponsors. Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-Pa) introduced the bill July 25, 2017, titled “529 Opening Paths to Invest in Our Nation’s Students Act.” For short: 529 OPTIONS Act. If it were to pass, construction and trades related apprenticeships would be allowed tax free distributions from section 529 college savings plans, for expenses such as books, supplies, and costs associated with obtaining an industry certification, as well as other specific costs. You can sign up for alerts on H.R. 3395’s progress—and any other legislation of interest to you—at www.govtrack.us/congress/bills. But the bill might not be vital on its own with the tax reform Congress introduced Nov. 2.

H.R. 1, also referred to as “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” includes language allowing 529 plans to be used to pay for costs that are “directly related to participating in a DOL-approved apprenticeship program,” according to NECA.

www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 61

“In the short-term, fewer firms will be able to bid on construction projects if they are concerned they will not have enough workers to meet demand.”—Stephen Sandherr The career fair is just the first step in sharing with high school students and out-of-work adults that promising careers in construction are available. They can’t aspire to something they don’t know is available. And as many sources were quick to agree, guidance counselors aren’t promoting the construction field. It’s up to those of us in the field to remind job-seekers that this option has benefits.

Individual companies don’t have to be in a state organization to participate in a school’s career day, or to host a career day of their own. Throughout 2017, AsphaltPro has included anecdotes from asphalt producers and contractors concerning their recruitment efforts, and a favored method for reaching new talent is being part of community career events. Even if you don’t have an opening on your crew or in the lab during the month of a career day, your presence keeps your company and your industry in front of tomorrow’s new hires. That forward-thinking is something schools and companies can do with reciprocal advising.

Get Out of the Box

Reciprocal advising begins with a teacher and a handful of experts in the field. When Bruce Wilson, O’Fallon, Missouri, chairman of the ASME Dimensioning and Tolerancing Committee (Y14.5) and author of GD&T Application and Interpretation, taught drafting and technical drawing to engineering students at Whiteside Area Vocational Center in Sterling, Illinois, he sought five technical advisors from companies in the region to volunteer their time as his technical advisory committee.

“We met a couple times a year,” Wilson explained. “At one time, I asked for real project ideas for my students to complete as part of their coursework. I then helped some of the students get set up with internships, and some went on to obtain employment, in their companies.”

Wilson described the cooperative education that took place as similar to an internship. During the time the student spends in the advisor’s company, the teacher is still involved and can help the student with his learning-on-the-job. By developing a partner or mentor relationship with a trades program, your company could be in a position to offer curriculum advice to department heads.

Amzie Hoffner, MS, SPHR, is a vice president at S.T. Wooten, Wilson, North Carolina, and shared that the company participates with schools. “Locally, we have been building close partnerships with community colleges and workforce development groups.”

These opportunities exist today in high school programs as well. One original equipment manufacturer (OEM) reached out to schools during 2017 to encourage a range of trades programs.

Harbor Freight Tools, Calabasas, California, introduced a program this year through which it awarded $510,000 to skilled trades teachers and programs in American public high schools. The Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence was designed to recognize outstanding instruction in the skilled trades, to

62 // december 2017

inspire students to learn a trade that prepares them for a career after high school.

“We created this prize out of huge respect for the intelligence and creativity of people who work with their hands to create, build and repair,” Eric Smidt said. He’s the founder of the prize and founder, owner and CEO of Harbor Freight Tools.

Check out the sidebar on page 64 for a list of the 10 schools and education teams that received an award in this first year. They may be graduating your next mechanic, foreman or other skilled team member.

Another OEM that hosts a program annually is Heavy Construction Systems Specialists Inc., Sugar Land, Texas. The Construction Intern Awards is a scholarship program designed to recognize both the strongest interns/students in construction and the companies with the best internship programs. This year’s winners will be announced after we go to press. To participate next year, for example, a student must participate in a construction internship for at least two months during the August 2017 to August 2018 school year. The student must be enrolled in a college, university or trade school during the 2017-2018 school year. The grand prize is $10,000 for the Construction Intern of the Year. Sixteen other finalists and honorable mentions receive cash prizes as well. Get more information about participating at https://cia.hcss.com.

Firms Respond with Worker Shortage Ideas These stats from the summer 2017 Autodesk/AGC survey of construction firms across the breadth of the industry show what your colleagues are changing about operation, worker recruitment and employee compensation. In addition, Sarah Hodges, the director of the construction business line at Autodesk, shared: “As labor challenges continue to grow, technology will play an increasingly important role supporting the existing workforce while inspiring the next generation of industry professionals.” · 79 percent of firms reported making a special effort to recruit and retain veterans · 70 percent of firms reported making a special effort to recruit and retain women · 64 percent of firms reported making a special effort to recruit and retain African Americans · 50 percent of firms reported increasing base pay rates for craft workers · 20 percent of firms reported improving employee benefits for craft workers · 24 percent of firms reported providing incentives and bonuses to attract workers · 46 percent of firms reported providing more in-house training to cope with workforce shortages · 47 percent of firms reported increasing overtime hours · 41 percent of firms reported increasing the use of subcontractors · 22 percent of firms reported increasing the use of labor-saving equipment · 11 percent of firms reported the use of off-site prefabrication · 7 percent of firms reported the use of virtual construction methods such as Building Information Modeling Source: AGC, Arlington, Virginia

Educational facilities from vocational schools to universities will have departments and/or staff who assist students with job placement upon graduation. Make sure you are a resource for those staff members, and make sure your career opportunities are posted with the schools in your region.

You will want to choose your posting locations wisely to protect your time. Throwing a free job listing onto the Craigslist for your city may turn up applications that are merely time-wasters for your human resources department; while assisting a company in Southwest Florida, I found that the majority of responders to its multiple Craigslist job postings were underqualified and not fully interested in a successful job hunt. That is only one example, of course. Your results in another area of the country may be different.

Put your job listing on a site where relevant applicants will see it.

Check out Diesel Jobs, Diversity Jobs and jobrapido to start. One of the highest ranking job search sites is Indeed, but think about the candidate you wish to recruit. Is that person using LinkedIn? Depending on the level of sophistication he or she needs for the post, he or she may have a profile there, and the site is ranked highly for finding employees. Maybe your next candidate is checking job postings at SnagAJob or US.jobs. We recently discussed the Glassdoor site in the Off the Mat column, and that site allows employers to post job listings. The Asphalt Pavement Alliance has https://www. asphaltjobs.com/ for our industry specifically. The point is to consider your ideal candidate, and then post where you think that candidate will be looking.

Let Them Know You Care

As we can see by the example Harbor Freight set this year, the effort to bring the next mechanic or skilled engineer into the industry is not limited to the contractors among us. Continental Corporation, ContiTech, with U.S. headquarters in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, is an industrial specialist with around 46,000 employees in 44 countries making products and systems of rubber, polyamide, metal, textile and electronics. You’ve no doubt seen their conveyors at CONEXPO/CON-AGG. This year, their employee Sally Edwards celebrated her 50-year anniversary with the company’s automotive hose and belt plant in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Sally “Monia” Edwards began her employment with Continental’s automotive hose and belt plant Sept. 18, 1967. “All the people I have worked with are like family,” Edwards said.

For the first 21 years, she worked in Hose Final, inspecting and packing hoses, in Lot Release, and in Laminated Cut Edge. During that time, she became a union steward, secretary and a policy committee member. May 1, 1988, she became the plant’s union pension and insurance representative and still works in that role. She helped negotiate contracts from 1993 to 2003.

She told us her favorite subject in high school was math.

“In her current role, she gets to use this still from time to time,” a spokesperson for the company shared. “Things like pension calculations and benefit/premium rates.”

“Over the years, Sally has worked with and mentored many associates, not only in Lincoln, but in other Continental locations as well,” human relations manager at the plant, Travis McFarland,

At a past Career Day, a high school student got to experience fall protection.

Photo courtesy Jon Young, HAPI. said. “We are very grateful for all the years of dedication Sally has given us.”

Edwards isn’t talking retirement yet, saying, “All the people I have worked with are like family.” In companies all across North America, veteran employees are retiring. On one hand, this speaks highly of the pensions and benefits available in this industry that facilitate retirement. On the other hand, it leaves a skills gap for companies to fill. At Lehman-Roberts, the team celebrated 25 years of service from Charles Greer in October.

Edwards participated in employee training since 1967. “As for training, she has done a lot of training over the years. Everything from time-study school to leadership development classes…she has been continuously attending training.”

Ben Brock, president and CEO of Astec Industries Inc., Chattanooga, Tennessee, shared that, in these good economic times for our industry, it would be difficult to entice people without paying them during on-the-job training. He attributed this to the number of good opportunities open to them. “We hire and train while we pay our new employees,” he said.

Campbell Brooks, the director of human resources for Astec, explained, “One of the things we think is important when recruiting

Top 5 Tips from the Article If you want to bring new workers to your company, you must first bring them to your industry.

1. Participate in career days, as well as job fairs, at local high school, community college and County Workforce Development Board events.

2. Volunteer as an advisor/mentor for trades program teachers at a high school or vocational center near you, where you can assist with curriculum, lessons, student development and internships.

3. Bolster your reputation in your region with good community outreach and events.

4. Work with national organizations in support of larger industry recruitment.

5. Advertise and promote more than “a job.”

www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 63

Harbor Freight Tools Identifies 10 Winning Programs Harbor Freight Tool announced the following 10 finalists in early October from a field of nearly 700 applicants from 48 states. The finalists were selected by panels of judges from the worlds of business, K-12 and higher education, the trades and crafts, non-profits, and philanthropy.

The final standing and prize is listed at the end of each description, and was assigned by a separate panel of eight judges. These winners represent high school trades programs graduating skilled young men and women for the future. While Harbor Freight Tools for Schools does not play a role in selecting the finalists or winners, you can get more information about each program from the OEM. Visit http:// harborfreighttoolsforschools.org/ or call Karen Denne to get connected (818) 836-5272.

Bob Kilmer—Construction & Architecture Enumclaw High School, Enumclaw, Washington Kilmer teaches woodworking, computer-aided design and architecture and construction, and he also serves as an instructional technology coach for the Enumclaw School District. Kilmer teaches his students to use their tools, skills, materials and processes to solve real-world problems, and this year they will build a tiny house for a family in need. $30,000 first-place winner; $70,000 for the skilled trades program

Ed Hughes—Construction, Technology Education Sheboygan Falls High School, Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin Hughes teaches construction, computer-aided design, STEM and other trades. He guides his students through trades pathways, a robust internship program and robotics competitions. Hughes helped spearhead the creation of his school’s Innovation Design Center, a modern learning space dedicated to the trades and technology. $10,000 winner; $20,000 for the skilled trades program

Jonathan Schwartz—Advanced Manufacturing Colfax High School, Colfax, California A longtime math teacher, Schwartz took over his school’s shop when it was in danger of closing, after realizing that shop students understood math concepts better than calculus students. By combining woodshop, engineering and math into an advanced manufacturing curriculum, his students use software to design wood projects, then use those projects with traditional shop tools, computer numerical control (CNC) equipment, 3D printers and laser cutters. $30,000 first-place winner; $70,000 for the skilled trades program

Scott Mayotte—Automotive Technology Concord Regional Technical Center, Concord, New Hampshire After nearly two decades as an automotive technician for Volkswagen, Mayotte turned to the classroom to teach automotive technology. His students graduate from a nationally certified program with industry credentials and can earn college credit for their coursework. This fall, Mayote established the “All Girls Garage” at his school to introduce more young women to the auto industry. $10,000 winner; $20,000 for the skilled trades program

Brendan Malone—Marine Systems Technology Urban Assembly New York Harbor School, Brooklyn, New York The Marine Systems Technology program that Malone leads prepares students to work in a career building, maintaining and repairing boats. The only high school in the country authorized to administer the American Boat and Yacht Council’s Marine Systems Technician Certification Exam, Malone’s juniors and seniors are required to participate in marine field internships. $30,000 first-place winner; $70,000 for the skilled trades program Roxanne Montarro Amiot—Automotive Technology Bullard-Havens Technical High School, Bridgeport, Connecticut The first woman to graduate from Bullard-Havens in auto shop, Amiot worked in the automotive industry before returning to her high school to teach. She has taught in the Connecticut Technical High School System as an auto instructor for 29 years. Amiot’s auto lab is a licensed repair facility, and students complete internships with local businesses and graduate with industry certifications. $10,000 winner; $20,000 for the skilled trades program Teaching team: Gerald “Dave” Huffman and Patrick Wadsworth— Construction Technology Gulfport High School, Gulfport, Mississippi Huffman teaches construction technology, and Wadsworth teaches English and technical writing. Their students work collaboratively on projects, melding technical and academic learning. Construction technology coursework prepares students for employment or continued education in the construction trades. $10,000 winner; $20,000 for the skilled trades program

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Teaching team: Cole Smith and Bill Hartman—Construction, Woodworking Rancho Cotate High School, Rohnert Park, California Smith and Hartman lead woodworking and sustainable construction classes, teaching their students how to build an off-the-grid tiny house, from the computer designed blueprints to construction of the 153-square-foot structure, complete with a composting toilet, water filtration system and solar panels. The hands-on project teaches students carpentry, plumbing and roofing. $10,000 winner; $20,000 for the skilled trades program Robert David White—Automotive Technology Parkside High School, Salisbury, Maryland White has taught automotive technology in Wicomico County, Maryland, for 31 years and was recognized as National Instructor of the Year by Automotive Service Excellence/Automotive Youth Educational Systems in 2007 and 2011. White’s students maintain a fleet of 85 vehicles for the local board of education, and they annually diagnose and repair about 1,000 cars from the community. $10,000 winner; $20,000 for the skilled trades program Randy Williamson—Construction Trades Williamsport Area High School Career and Technical Education, Williamsport, Pennsylvania Williamson guides his students in building a small-scale house, from generating computer-designed plans to constructing and installing the electrical and plumbing systems. Williamson taps regional industry advisors to ensure his program trains students in the most advanced and in-demand skills. Many of his students graduate industry-certified and able to land construction jobs after high school. $10,000 winner; $20,000 for the skilled trades program

“This allows us the opportunity to show applicants we have a process in place for training and job exposures that will better position them in the future for potential career advancement that is based upon company growth and needs, and the applicant’s individual preferences and goals.”—Campbell Brooks ‘white collar’ employees is to discuss our succession planning process during interviews. This allows us the opportunity to show applicants we have a process in place for training and job exposures that will better position them in the future for potential career advancement that is based upon company growth and needs, and the applicant’s individual preferences and goals.”

On-the-job training implies you’ve successfully brought an applicant to your door and hired him or her. Wooten’s Hoffner offered advice on that step, also. “We’re proud that half of our employees have been with us for at least five years, and a third for more than 10 years.

But trying to get people in the door is the hard part. We are dealing with the same recruiting challenges as the rest of the industry. Regardless of your company size, you can’t fix the problem by yourself. Therefore, we work with national organizations like AGC in support of larger in-

dustry recruitment initiatives. But to attract and retain solid employees, you need to have a good reputation. You have to know who you are and what you offer. Your reputation as a great place to work should stand alone—the fact that we work in construction is secondary.”

One of the national organizations reaching out to workers is NAPA. The incoming chair of the IMPACT Leadership Group is Tim Caudle, who is the vice president at Silver Star Construction Co. Inc., Moore, Oklahoma. Caudle will lead this team of up-and-coming asphalt industry professionals, and will welcome help from industry. IMPACT evolved from the NAPA Young Leaders Program, which was established in 2004, and focuses on providing education, leadership development training and networking opportunities.

The other point Hoffner called attention to ties into community relations, which is another article on its own (see Positive Culture Wins over Strategy on page 42 for an example). Consider what you can advertise with your marketing and promotion budget that goes beyond announcing the annual company picnic. When a large number of your employees participate in a charity event or your company pays a crew at no cost to the local Boys and Girls Club to repair their meeting place parking lot, send a press release with pictures to the local paper. It’s not only zoning board members who need to see your efforts, but future employees need to know that your company cares about the community. When a member of the highway crew smiles for the camera and tells why he’s been part of your company for 25 years, you have a winning testimonial not only for your business, but for the whole industry. Share that. Share that far and wide to let others know of the rewarding careers available in the asphalt industry.

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www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 65

That’s a Good Idea

Put Wheels on the Plate Compactor

ABOVE: Laborer Jair Paixao runs the plate compactor on an area of binder course with the wheels in the “up” position, out of the way. TOP RIGHT: Here the laborer shows the plate compactor with the wheels in the “up” position. BOTTOM RIGHT: When the laborer is finished compacting an area, he can lower the wheels using the hinge to swing them down, under the plate. This makes rolling the plate compactor to another area of the work zone much easier. All photos courtesy John Ball, Top Quality Paving & Training, Manchester, New Hampshire.

Make life easier for the laborers by making the heavy plate compactor easier to move around the job site. You don’t want to encourage the laborer to run the plate compactor in vibratory mode across an already compacted area of pavement, yet moving it while it’s on is the easiest way to get this piece of equipment from point A to point B. Rather than asking workers to lift and struggle to move the heavy item while it’s off, the team at J.H. Lynch in Rhode Island ordered their compactor with a set of wheels.

The wheel apparatus is bolted to the compactor. The two 4-inch wheels can swing up or down on the hinge on the back of the compactor. When the compactor is in use, the wheels are up out of the way. When it’s time to move the compactor to another part of the job site, the worker can swing the wheels down under the plate.

Then he rolls the compactor to another location, protecting the pavement and his back.

M

– By John Ball

John Ball is the proprietor of Top Quality Paving & Training, Manchester, New Hampshire. He provides personal, on-site paving consulting services around the United States and into Canada. For more information, contact him at (603) 493-1458 or tqpaving@yahoo.com.

66 // december 2017

Billy Lopes, who is in the back of the truck, manipulates the crane that brings the plate compactor on board. Greg Pacheco, on the ground, helps guide the plate compactor. Notice the wheels hanging in the “down” position.

product gallery

Asphalt Production Shines with Environmental, Equipment Updates At the end of each calendar year, we take a look at the state of the asphalt industry. For this department, we look at equipment and services, specifically. During 2017, the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and consultants who focus on quarry, plant, and terminal products and services have kept environmental sustainability in the forefront while bringing new technology to market.

Consider the Portable Longneck Recycle System from CWMF Corporation, Waite Park, Minnesota. The team originally rolled the product out in 2009, but they’ve offered it with updates such as a custom, two-bin set-up since then. Why? Because asphalt producers incorporate recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) at a more frequent rate than ever before* and CWMF is one of the OEMs providing a means to do it right.

The portable longneck recycle system directly feeds RAP into the recycle collar of the drum. It’s available in single-bin set-up or a tandem bin set-up. It consolidates the typical recycle bin and scale conveyor set-up into one cassis. In addition, CWMF is able to incorporate a hammer mill system that will grind the oversized product coming off the screen. You can get more information from Travis Mick at (320) 267-3805 or travis@ cwmfcorp.com.

Of course producers add more than RAP to mixes, and they do it for more than environmental benefit. From recycled asphalt shingles (RAS) to warm-mix asphalt (WMA) additives, the industry seeks out new ways to be a responsible steward of resources.

Lennie Loesch, the CEO of Stansteel® Asphalt Plant Products, Louisville, Kentucky, shared that the hotmix asphalt industry can make a tremendous national impact, from both an environmental and sustainability standpoint, with the use of RAP and RAS.

A

“But, in recent years, the significant initiative has been to use more RAP and RAS while making an even better quality product.”

Loesch pointed to the impressive statistics our industry can boast regarding recycling—we are No.1—and said, “What many innovative contractors have realized is that if achieving this great statistic wasn’t enough, we need to keep working to increase the use of RAP and RAS and, of course, improve mix material quality, pavement life and sustainability.” You can get more information from Loesch’s team at (800) 826-0223 or by visiting www.

StansteelUsed.com.

OEMs also look at ways to make the process of improving quality easier on the producer. Mitch Duncklee is the lead software engineer for Systems Equipment Corporation, Waukon, Iowa, which launched in September the “big production” version of its ADP-100 asphalt drum mix blend computer to control up to 24 feeder channels for aggregates and additives.

“Many larger plants have determined there is a benefit to having a different feeder for each material used in their many mixes,” Duncklee said. “The time required to clean out and reload a bin can be saved with this large-scale blend system, and the old saying of ‘time is money’ makes having more aggregate bins very appealing.”

Even though a mix design formula won’t call for all feeders at one time, the Systems Equipment team recognized the computer’s need to connect and control all equipment. “That is why Systems has expanded and updated its I/O for the ADP-100 to include up to 24 ingredients.” In addition to the 24 feeders, the new I/O will handle 64 discrete inputs and outputs when required.

The expanded system has room for another 20 analog inputs for metering other equip-

ment—including pods and liquid skids on load cells—as weight depletion feeders. You can get more information from Duncklee at (563) 568-6387 or by visiting http://www.systemsequipment.com/.

The OEMs participating in this month’s product gallery offer the asphalt producer the tools to do exactly what Loesch referred to above: improve quality, pavement life and sustainability through new and upgraded technology and equipment.

Take a look at the latest new and improved items for the asphalt production side of the industry. We’ll investigate offerings for the paving and pavement maintenance side of the industry next month.

ACE GROUP

Ace Group LLC, Willmar, Minnesota, updated its shaker decks for the market in 2016. The decks are offered in a wide range of sizes and designed to filter out oversized aggregate. They are custom-made with single or double deck; single decks are available from 3 by 5 feet up to 5 by 10 feet. They are made to use common size screen cloths.

Check them out at www.asphaltace.com.

For more information, contact sales at (888) 878-0898 or sales.enquiries@ asphaltace.com.

The shaker decks from Ace Group were updated for the market in 2016.

*The NAPA/FHWA 2015 Construction Season Survey on Recycled Materials and WMA, released March 2017, indicated, “more than 77.2 million tons of recycled materials…was used in new asphalt pavement mixtures during the 2015 construction season. In addition, nearly a third (32.8 percent) of all asphalt pavement mixture was produced that year at reduced temperatures using warm-mix asphalt technologies.” Preliminary data from the 2016 Survey shows the continuing trend.

68 // december 2017

proximately 50 percent. This has allowed customers to blend 18 percent crumb rubber at a top speed of over 60 TPH. Also at that production rate, they were seeing an increase of 50 degrees F in the virgin binder through the heating system, according to the manufacturer.

For more information, contact Jason Cox at (830) 833-5366 or Jason@dhequip.com.

E INSTRUMENTS

Originally launched in 2012, the EX10248 asphalt plant from ADM had its most recent update in 2017.

ADM Asphalt Drum Mixers Inc., Huntertown, Indiana, released the latest version of the EX10248 asphalt plant in 2017. “We are constantly making improvements to all our plant lines, based on customer feedback as well as field testing,” a spokesperson stated. “The rugged 275 to 350 TPH EX10248 asphalt plant meets production capacity demands and strict environmental regulations.

The plant’s single-drum counterflow system uses the latest in innovative technology.”

For more information, contact Jeff Dunne at (260) 637-5729 or sales@admasphaltplants.com.

CMI Roadbuilding CMI Roadbuilding, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, introduced the Magnum 150 counterflow drum-mix with up to 30 percent RAP capability to the market in 2017. To enhance the portability and quick installation of the Magnum 150, a new one-piece cold feed unit with scalping screen/aggregate

weigh conveyor, baghouse and SE60 selferect hotmix storage system have been designed to allow rapid installation with minimum site preparation. The SE60 self-erect hotmix storage system can be erected in 30 minutes, with all remaining equipment, which is pre-wired, being able to be positioned and put to work within a matter of days, according to the manufacturer.

For more information, contact sales@cmiroadbuilding.com.

E Instruments International LLC, Langhorne, Pennsylvania, introduced the E8500 Plus portable emissions analyzer for EPA compliance level emissions monitoring and testing to the market in September 2017. The product has been upgraded to measure up to 50 percent CO2 using an NDIR sensor and is designed for regulatory and maintenance use in boiler, burner, engine, turbine, furnace and other combustion applications. It includes up to nine gas sensors and upgraded software with automatic data-logging.

For more information, contact (215) 7501212 or dkelly@E-Inst.com.

D&H

D&H Equipment Ltd., Blanco, Texas, updated its 60+ TPH asphalt rubber blending plant in April 2017. The features of the plant have been improved with options that include: increasing the size of the product pump from 4 inches to 6 inches, increasing the blended product piping from 4 inches to 6 inches, increasing the capacity of the integrated hot oil heating system from 3 million BTU to 4 million BTU, and increasing the size of the heat exchanger by ap-

The new E8500 Plus portable emissions analyzer includes an internal thermoelectric chiller with automatic condensate removal.

EMERSON

CMI Roadbuilding has introduced the Magnum 150 counterflow drum-mix with up to 30 percent RAP capability.

The 60+ TPH asphalt rubber blending plant from D&H Equipment can now offer up to 6-inch piping and 6-inch pump.

Emerson of St. Louis, Missouri, introduced the Appleton® Baymaster™ LED High Bay luminaire featuring a patented quickmount pendant system to the market in October 2017. It is designed to reduce installation and labor costs through timesaving quick-mounting. One electrician using standard tools is all that is required to prewire the mounting hood, line up the arrows,

www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 69

product gallery

Emerson states the Appleton Baymaster can be installed by one electrician.

The new UltraRAP® drum mix technology is designed to process up to 60 percent recycled asphalt.

and lock the Baymaster into place, according to the manufacturer. Its six lumen output levels and 5,000K cool white or 3,000K CCT warm white color options allow greater mounting height versatility. Check it out at www.emerson.com.

For more information, contact Mary Krauss at (800) 621-1506 or mary.krauss@ emerson.com.

GENCOR

ENVIRO DISTRIBUTION

Enviro Distribution LLC introduced the AireHaven 1000 to the market in October 2017. The product is a 4-ounce, personal, motorized air purification mask that features a built-in two-speed fan and threestage filter to keep the user cool while protecting him or her from environmental risks. The AH1000 3-tier filtration system filters out pollutants and fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), according to the manufacturer. It delivers eight hours of use on low speed, and five and a half hours of use on high speed after one hour of charging.

For more information, visit http:// airehavenmask.com.

The AH1000 3-tier filtration system is designed to filter out fine particulate matter.

70 // december 2017

Gencor Industries, Orlando, introduced the UltraRAP® drum mix technology to the market. The UltraRAP allows processing 60 percent recycled asphalt with less energy, and without superheating and oxidizing the process materials, according to the manufacturer. The UltraRAP concept uses a staged convective heat transfer design to preheat and advance the release of internal moisture in the recycled pavement. The unique patented combustion zone allows the release of moisture at much lower temperatures, thus creating a more even and staged release of water vapor in the drying process without oxidation, according to the manufacturer.

For more information, contact Dennis Hunt at (407) 290-6000 or dhunt@gencor.com.

for FLOMEC meters and other flowmeter brands. The I/O Board ships with a customized operating system. Programming can be done using the FLOMEC app vie Bluetooth® wireless interface. Check it out at http://flomec.net/qse-qsi/qsi-kits.

For more information, contact Mark Bieberle at (316) 927-3126 or mbieberle@ gplains.com.

HERMAN GRANT

Great Plains Industries® (GPI), Wichita, Kansas, introduced the FLOMEC QSI Interface Board to the market October 2017 to provide fully-featured communication protocols and process output signals

Herman Grant Company Inc., Chattanooga, Tennessee, updated its pugmill with Dodge TXT shaft mount reducers, which drops the coater’s mixing time from 35 to 20 seconds, according to the manufacturer. Operating between 300 and 400 TPH, the 12-foot active mixing zone coats aggregates while keeping RAP and liquid AC out of the gas stream. Designed with NI-hard tips and liners, the twin-shaft coater has minimal maintenance to save the asphalt producer money and wear on equipment.

For more information, contact Jodie Martin at (423) 266-6138 or jodiem@hermangrant.com.

Great Plains has introduced the FLOMEC QSI Interface Board.

Herman Grant has updated its pugmill with Dodge TXT shaft mount reducers.

GREAT PLAINS

berg-Pioneer Inc. (KPI) in October 2017.

The new industry-standard drop-in carbide wear parts are designed to decrease downtime required for service and maintenance and can be retrofitted into existing VSI crushers from KPI. For more information, contact Tim Harms at timharms@kolbergpioneer.com.

The Accu-Radar from Hotmix Parts & Service is designed to detect the level of finished asphalt in the silo, regardless of material distribution.

HOTMIX PARTS & SERVICE

Hotmix Parts & Service, Louisville, Kentucky, introduced the Accu-Radar™ Asphalt Silo Level Indicator in October 2017 to prevent over-fill and help producers assess the correct level of finished product.

The equipment, through the use of radar, detects the level of finished asphalt in a silo despite an uneven distribution of product throughout the silo. As an option: the silo level monitor can be incorporated into the user’s current PLC or be a stand-alone control. With the new remote monitoring system, any computer, phone or tablet on the same network as the Accu-Radar can be assigned roles and monitor levels anywhere in the plant, according to the manufacturer.

For more information, contact Tom Snell at (800) 826-0223 or tsnell@hotmixparts.com.

KPI-JCI

LARSON

Larson Electronics, Kemp, Texas, introduced its LM-12-4.5-5S-FM-2X24ET-LV telescoping 5-stage light mast to the market in October 2017. The mast is designed to allow quick and safe deployment of 125 pounds of equipment up to 12 feet high, and then be collapsed to 4.5 feet. The tower is built with steel square tubing coated with a corrosion-resistant finish. The 360-degee telescoping mast is elevated by pressing a button. It comes with two of Larson’s LEDLB-24ET LEDs, which produce a total of 8,640 lumens with a 144-watt draw to light up an area of your plant or yard. The IP68-rated LEDs can withstand rapid temperature changes of -40 degrees C to 85 degrees C, according to the manufacturer.

For more information, contact sales@ larsonelectronics.com.

LEWIS-GOETZ

Lewis-Goetz, Pittsburgh, was named a Platinum Distributor of OPW Engineered Systems loading arm products. In addition, the

Lewis-Goetz service center in Houston was recognized as an OPW factory-authorized repair facility. OPW Engineered Systems is a manufacturer of top- and bottom-loading arm products for refineries, chemical plants and petrochemical facilities, as well as tank truck and railcar terminals.

For more information, visit www.lewisgoetz.com.

LIBRA SYSTEMS

Libra Systems Inc., Harleysville, Pennsylvania, introduced the Automatic AC Tank Switching product to the market in August 2017. Automatic AC Tank Switching provides new functionality to the Libra PlantWise Drum Mix Control System. The system controls all fill, return and supply valves, as well as the AC pump and truck unloading. Tank levels are also monitored, including critical limits. Dynamic, color-coded graphics provide at-a-glance status pertaining to valve changes, material flow, tank levels, temperatures, interlocks and any alarm conditions. Manual control of heaters, agitators, etc. can be turned on and off through the software. AC Tank Switching is fully integrated with the PlantWise automatic blending process, including material usage totals and the capability to control the entire plant without manual buttons. Check it out at www.librasystems.com.

For more information, contact Greg Fleisch at (215) 256-1700 x123 or gfleisch@ librasystems.com.

KPI-JCI and Astec Mobile Screens, Yankton, South Dakota, announced the drop-in carbides are now available for all models of vertical shaft impactors (VSI) from Kol-

The new carbides from KPI are designed to cut replacement time to around 20 percent of what it is with other solutions.

This screen capture shows the monitoring feature of the Automatic AC Tank Switching from Libra Systems. www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 71

product gallery el reading. Installation and piping services available; agitation, portability available.

Check out the tanks at http://www.reliableasphalt.com/liquid-asphalt-ac-tanks/.

For more information, contact David Childers at (502) 647-1782 or d.childers@ reliableasphalt.com.

MEASURE

Measure, based in Washington, D.C., expanded its drone-powered solutions for the architecture, engineering and construction industries in October 2017. The new solutions are designed to enhance visibility into site conditions, construction progress and material availability through drone-based data imaging and reporting services, including: • Pre-construction surveys • Project documentation • Volumetrics Check out the services for the AEC sector at http://www.measure.com/industry-drone-solutions-construction.

For more information, contact Elizabeth Ritter at (847) 904-2806.

NAPA

The National Asphalt Pavement Association, Lanham, Maryland, introduced the Emerald Eco-Label EPD Tool to the market in 2017.

The Emerald Eco-Label allows asphalt mix production facilities to produce third-party verified environmental product declarations, which project owners can use to earn credits in green construction ratings systems. EPDs can also be helpful in optimizing the efficiency of a plant or mixture in terms of environmental impacts. Check it out at www.AsphaltPavement.org/EPD. For more information, contact Kelly Kanaras at (301) 731-4748 or kkanaras@ asphaltpavement.org.

PHCo offers inline electric fuel oil preheaters to adjust viscosity in heavy fuel oil. preferred method is to preheat the fuel, allowing heavier oils to move smoothly to the burner. PHCo inline heaters are fully automatic, easy to control, and—due to their removable drywell tubes—easy to clean, according to the manufacturer. You can check them out at http://www.processheating.com/ index/php?page=clhr2.

For more information, contact Rick Jay at (866) 682-1582 or Rick@processheating.com.

RELIABLE

Reliable Asphalt Products Inc., Shelbyville, Kentucky, updated its Burke asphalt storage tanks for this season. Heated by either hot oil or electric, hot oil heaters and immersion electric units are available. The tanks are fully insulated and skinned; piping and layout per customer specifications. Sizes available from 10,000 to 35,000 gallons. Pressure transmission and site gauge options for liquid lev-

RoadScience

Road Science, a Division of ArrMaz, Tulsa, Oklahoma, released NovaGrip™ 1016 to the market July 2017. NovaGrip 1016 is a next-generation liquid anti-stripping additive designed to extend roadway life by protecting from destructive pavement distresses such as potholes, rutting and raveling. Its chemistry is designed to pose no health risks to workers, and is both non-hazardous and non-regulated for transport. Paving crew and plant personnel comfort is also improved since it has no irritating odor and does not emit smoke in hot asphalt, according to the manufacturer. Check it out at http://novagrip-asphalt-anti-stripping-additives.roadscience.net/.

For more information, contact C. Ivann Harnish at (863) 669-8765 or iharnish@ roadscience.net.

PHCO

Process Heating Company (PHCo), Seattle, Washington, fully released the Lo-Density® CLHR Inline Electric Fuel Oil Preheaters to the market in 2017. Inline Electric Fuel Oil Preheaters automatically provide precise temperature and viscosity control of heavy oils for efficient and steady delivery from the pump to the burner. Viscosity is the primary concern for producers who burn heavy or used fuel oil in their plants, as these oils become virtually impossible to pump at low ambient temperatures. Correct viscosity also provides proper atomization at the burner nozzle and clean burning of the oil. There are two methods available to adjust viscosity in heavy fuel oil. One is to cut or blend the oil with #2 heating oil or diesel fuel—raising operational costs with higher fuel costs. The

72 // december 2017

NovaGrip™ 1016 is a liquid anti-stripping additive designed to extend roadway life.

ROTOCHOPPER

The Burke asphalt storage tanks from Reliable Asphalt Products have been updated for the season.

Rotochopper, St. Martin, Minnesota, introduced the RotoLink 2nd generation remote monitoring system during its 2017 Demo Day. The monitoring system has a live connection to the grinder controller and Rotochopper customer service to allow work in real-time with Rotochopper customer support to view machine settings and troubleshoot issues. When granted access, factory service techs have a direct connection to the display, and with permission can change machine settings.

sured aggregate flow. The ADP-100 also has a new packaging, developed for easier connection to the equipment’s wiring. A new layout and cabinet design are suited to the large capacity of the system.

For more information, contact Mitch Duncklee at (563) 568-6387.

VOLVO The RotoLink 2nd generation remote monitoring system from Rotochopper allows a live connection between the machine and customer support.

For more information, contact Andy Brick at atbrick@rotochopper.com.

SYSTEMS

Systems Equipment, Waukon, Iowa, announced a “big production” version of its ADP-100 Asphalt Drum Mix Blend Computer for the market in September 2017.

The expanded version of Systems’ blend computer controls up to 24 feeder channels for aggregates and additives, including fines, liquids and other materials used to produce drum mix asphalt. The base ADP-100 system on which this large-scale version is built was developed nearly 30 years ago. It was designed to proportion aggregates and additives according to prescribed mix design formulas, and also measure and control the liquid mass flow rate so blends accurately interlock to the mea-

Volvo Construction Equipment, introduced the EC750E crawler excavator to the market in 2017. It features a Volvo D16J 16-liter Tier 4 Final engine with a rated output of 1,800 rpm and 516 horsepower and breakout force of 71,720 to 86,110 footpounds. The bucket capacity is 4 to 7 cubic yards. The maximum digging reach is 37 feet, 8 inches; maximum digging depth is 23 feet, 8 inches, based on certain configurations. Check it out at www.volvoce.com.

For more information, contact tiffany.cheng@volvo.com or visit www.volvogroup.com.

The 75-ton EC750E from Volvo boasts improvements to power, productivity and digging force from its smaller predecessor.

The ADP-100 from Systems Equipment uses a graphic display, allowing feeders and asphalt tanks to be labeled with the material they contain and mix formulas labeled with logical names. www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 73

new tech

Wear It While You Work Although our equipment gets smarter each and every innovation cycle, the PPE those in the construction industry have worn hasn’t changed much over the past half-century.

With the development and growth of wearables, that may soon change.

According to a report from ABI Research, the wearable market—including both consumer and enterprise devices—is expected to grow from 202 million in 2016 to 501 million by 2021. The report also estimates that, although enterprise devices work for work account for only 17 percent of today’s wearables, they will count for more than one third of 2021’s 501 million devices.

That prediction seems clear when you consider all of the benefits of wearables in the workplace. According to Rackspace, wearable technology in the construction industry can increase productivity by 8.5 percent and workplace satisfaction by 3.5 percent. And OSHA believes these devices could also help lower insurance rates and improve employee health and safety.

In an industry where we can’t often speak directly to one another—either because it’s too loud or due to long distances on the jobsite—wearables can improve communication, in addition to their promising safety benefits.

Here are some of the most interesting wearables built with the construction industry in mind. Whether they’re five years down the road or 50, they sure make the future look a bit brighter—and that isn’t just the gleam of your Lockhead Martin wearable exoskeleton.

A

XOEye Smart Glasses

XOEye Technologies has developed safety-certified smart glasses that can help reduce the amount of time it takes to make a decision, clearly communicate what’s happening in the field, and train new employees.

The glasses are equipped with a camera and microphone that can capture photos, video and audio, as well as make audio and video calls. The chief benefit of this handsfree system is the opportunity to call the home office—or anywhere around the

74 // december 2017

Spot-r is a wearable sensor that alerts a safety supervisor in the event of a slip, trip or fall. world, for that matter—and relay the realities of the field, both to receive a faster decision and to communicate with expert technicians who may not be able to visit the jobsite in person. Instead, technicians receive a first-person point-of-view on the situation and can walk the wearer of the glasses on the jobsite through a solution.

The system can also be used to teleconference and record safety inspections, document the workzone, and send videos of equipment performance to the mechanic. It can also be used to capture first-person videos that can then be used for training purposes.

Unlike smart glasses like Google Glass, XOEye’s smart glasses are safety-certified to protect your eyes, in addition to enabling communication.

Spot-R Wearable Sensor

Spot-r is a wearable sensor from Triax that promises workers “always have a partner on the job.”

About the size of a pack of gum, the sensor must be worn on the workbelt. In the event that a worker slips, trips or falls on the jobsite, the sensor will alert your safety supervisor of the event. It then provides that worker’s general location so the supervisor can send help.

The sensor is also equipped with a selfalert button that, when held for 2 seconds, will beep to indicate that an alert has been sent to the safety supervisor. This means, if the wearer sees a safety issue, he doesn’t have to leave his workzone to find help. If the sensor beeps continuously, all personnel should evacuate the workzone immediately.

The sensors are connected using a closed, secure mesh network connecting only one specific jobsite, with no option for offsite monitoring.

Spot-r sensors can be used to check workers in when they arrive, and auto-disconnect when a worker leaves the jobsite’s network, giving supervisors a live headcount, recording of manhours, and general knowledge of workers’ positions while on the job. When the worker is no longer on the job, the sensor, which is waterproof and has a 1-year battery life, enters sleep mode.

SolePower Work Boots

With all of these battery-powered wearable devices, you might be wondering where exactly the extra energy will come from. SolePower Work Boots aims to use your body’s own kinetic energy to power it and other smart devices, one step at a time.

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new tech The workboots can power their own location tracking device every couple of steps, which can be used to track worker hours and identify ways in which a job site could be better organized, but they can also be used to power lights, sensors, GPS devices and other wearables.

The boots could also be used to sense temperature and motion, falls and fatigue, and illuminate with every step for an added safety boost in nighttime work zones.

The U.S. Army is currently testing the technology in an effort to reduce the amount of backup batteries soldiers must carry, which often reaches 20 pounds of backup batteries per person for a one-day mission.

SolePower boots can now power one hour of talk time on an iPhone with two hours of walking. According to SolePower CEO Hahna Alexander, that’s around 10 times more powerful than a comparable wearable kinetic charger.

Myo Armband

Myo armband is the missing link between body and brain, when it comes to head-mounted displays and smart glasses.

The touch-free, voice-free device slides onto the wearer’s forearm and enables him to use various gestures to control technology. For example, a user can extend all five fingers to snap a photo on smart glasses like XOEye, or wave his hand back and forth to move forward or backward in a training video he’s watching on, say, the DAQRI smart helmet.

Redpoint Positioning Safety Vest Sensors

The most high-tech part of your safety vest may no longer be its reflective tape. Redpoint Positioning is placing sensor tags within safety vests that will help workers stay safer on the jobsite.

When the wearer enters a danger zone on the worksite, whether that be an off-limits area or behind a piece of moving machinery--also denoted by Redpoint sensors-the vest will light up and sound an alarm. It will also notify the equipment operator of the wearer’s presence and instruct the operator to slow down or deactivate the machine. The sensor will also notify the wearer’s supervisor. If a wearer continuously puts himself in harm’s way, a supervisor can outline the dangers of that activity before an incident occurs.

The sensors can also measure workers’ biometrics, including heart rate and stress.

DAQRI Smart Helmet

The smart helmet from DAQRI, Los Angeles, brings augmented reality to the industrial working world. The helmet, equipped with a camera and clear optical display, allows the user to see instructions and data visualizations overlaid on top of the real environment.

In addition to capturing photos, videos and audio, and offering live video calls, the helmet can also deliver guided work instructions on top of the user’s activity. Users will also be able to see vital stats of ma-

76 // december 2017

chinery from within the headset, like rotation speed and efficiency of a generator, the temperature of a machine, or the last time a piece of equipment was checked out by the mechanic. It’s also equipped with a thermal camera so users can visualize, passively record and analyze temperatures in their environment—from hot spots on the machinery to the temperature of the mat being laid—as they work.

The smart helmet, DAQRI’s flagship product, is already available for purchase, but DAQRI has also announced smart glasses that offer the same capabilities as the helmet in a smaller, lighter form factor, as well as the DAQRI Qube motion tracking sensor and Smart HUD for data overlays on vehicle windshields.

DAQRI has also launched its own proprietary software, DAQRI 4D Studio Suite, to enable customers to create their own work instructions and data visualizations, incorporating 3D models, videos, audio and photos, without any coding experience.

Although similar to a more mainstream solution, like Microsoft’s Hololens, DAQRI products are specifically built to withstand the demands of industrial and construction jobs.

Hexoskin Smart Shirts

Marketed towards runners, Hexoskin still has its place in the work zone. The smart shirts monitor heart rate and heart rate variability, which can be used to estimate stress and fatigue, as well as breathing rate, steps, and activity intensity.

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new tech They hold a charge for 14 hours and can capture 600 hours of data. They can be connected to a smartphone or tablet to read and analyze the data. Hexoskin shirts are also machine washable, lightweight and offer UV protection.

Lockhead Martin is also working on exoskeleton technologies, including its Fortis exoskeleton, which allows wearers to use heavy tools without having to bear 100 percent of the burden.

ViSafe Wireless Adhesive Electrodes

Ekso Bionics Robotic Exoskeletons You are Ironman. Or, may be...soon. For the past 10 years, Ekso Bionics has been developing robotic exoskeletons to “unlock human strength, endurance and mobility potential,” but in 2016, the company received the first FDA clearance exoskeleton for use with stroke and spinal cord injuries. In addition to its medical potential, Ekso Bionics’ exoskeletons could also greatly impact industrial markets.

For example, the company compared two workers’ productivity and fatigue levels while doing the same job—one, just a man and his jackhammer; the other, a man, his jackhammer, and an extra robotic arm

Although not something your crew would wear to the job on a daily basis, ViSafe wireless adhesive electrodes from DorsaVi, London, are also worth mentioning.

The devices analyze motion to create detailed movement profiles measuring proportion of time spent in challenging postures, repetition of movement, sustained movement and muscle activity.

This data, which can be captured and streamed from a person’s body to a mobile device for up to 24 hours at a time, is then run through the movement algorithm of DorsaVi to determine injury risk scores for various jobs.

to assist. The worker with the robotic arm, unsurprisingly, finished the task 25 percent faster with significantly less fatigue.

Connect With Us! Stay in touch with AsphaltPro between issues where you can find how-to content, trends and technology and industry insight.

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The Controls Issue

asphaltPRO a sphalt PRO SSION PRODUCTION – PROFE

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Train Ne w Workforc e • Balan ce • I-4 Op Mix Designs ens with • CreateNOVEMB ER 2017 Asphalt Silica M TPRO.CO Comp WWW.THEASPHAL liance

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Ammann.....................................................................................31

KPI-JCI-AMS..................................................Inside Back Cover

Asphalt Drum Mixers.................................................................18

Libra Systems...........................................................................45

Astec, Inc..................................................................... 15, 35, 48

Meeker.......................................................................................55

B & S Light................................................................................38

Process Heating....................................................................... 47

CEI................................................................................................ 4 ClearSpan..................................................................................65 CWMF Corporation...................................................................17 Dillman Equipment...................................................................56 E.D. Etnyre................................................................................. 73 Fast-Measure.............................................................................81

Reliable Asphalt Products........................................ Back Cover Roadtec.....................................................................................7, 8 Stansteel Used......................................................................... 67 Systems Equipment...........................................................23, 41 Tarmac International, Inc........................................................25

Gencor Industries...................................................................... 11

Top Quality Paving.....................................................................16

Heatec, Inc................................................Inside Front Cover, 37

TPF Inc.......................................................................................65

Hot-Mix Parts............................................................................13

Transtech...................................................................................43

Ingevity......................................................................................29

Willow Designs..........................................................................81

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Here’s how it works

Step 5

Adjust rotation speed using one of the Model BRʼs three sheave arrangements.

When the conveyor is turned off, the Model BR system automatically turns off.

Regulate brushing pressure with the systemʼs threaded rod assembly.

Step 4 As the shaft rotates, the bristles—just touching the belt—brush carryback from the belt.

Step 3

Step 2

Step 1 When the conveyor is turned on, the Model BRʼs motor will begin to drive the V-belt.

The V-belt drives the shaft, which holds the 12 brush strips.

The brush will rotate against the conveyor beltʼs direction of travel at about twice the speed of the belt.

Conveyor Components’ Model BR Brush T

To keep conveyor belts from wearing too soon, cleaning them is a must. The team at Conveyor Components Company, Croswell, Michigan, devised the Model BR brush that affixes to a flat area of the conveyor system to assist in keeping carryback material off the return belt. Here’s how it works.

First, the user wires the brush’s 230/460-volt motor to start and stop with operation of the conveyor. When the conveyor is in use, the brush’s enclosed and fan-cooled electric motor will drive the V-belt, which is located in a belt guard. In turn, the V-belt drives the shaft upon which the cast iron hubs holding the Model BR’s 12 helically shaped brush strips are located.

The Model BR’s standard brush is composed of nylon bristles and is 10 inches in diameter, but oil tempered wire and polypropylene bristles are also available. The manufacturer recommends nylon bristles, which come in 0.014, 0.028 and 0.04-inch diameters—including use with aggregates—and suggests thicker bristles for heavy, wet or tacky carryovers, and thinner bristles for lighter, dryer carryovers.

82 // december 2017

As the motor drives the brush, the brush will rotate against the belt’s direction of travel at about twice the speed of the belt, but not slower than 200 RPM. Users adjust the rotation speed via the Model BR’s multiple sheave arrangements, which allow for three speeds: 278, 472 and 547 RPM, yielding speeds of 728, 1117 and 1433 feet per minute, respectively.

As the shaft rotates, the bristles will begin to brush the conveyor belt. Users regulate brushing pressure using the Model BR’s threaded rod assembly. Regardless of bristle type used, the bristle ends should just touch the belt, as unnecessary pressure causes a poor wiping action rather than a brushing action.

When the conveyor is turned off, the Model BR motor automatically turn offs. The self-cleaning brush’s open-face design aims to insure non-loading, but in the event that a brush strip must be replaced, replacement strips can be inserted with a recommended torque for the BR-22 clip assemblies between 5 and 10 foot pounds.

For more information, contact Rich Washkevich at 800-233-3233, 810679-4211 or info@conveyorcomponents.com.

ProSizer Series

®

ProSizer® 3600 Look for the new ProSizer® 3600 designed to work in both recycle and aggregate applications to hit the market in 2017. Its robust 36” X 46” horizontal shaft impactor and up to 6’ X 18’ double deck screen will process slabby materials and RAP millings faster than ever. With the compact design the ProSizer 3600 is a one load move.

Learn more about RAP Processing Systems at kpijci.com

ASTEC MOBILE SCREENS

an Astec Industries Company

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• HEATEC 30,000 GALLON PORTABLE AC TANK, DIRECT FIRED BUT ALSO HAS NOMINAL 1.0MBTU HEATER ON THE GOOSENECK RUNNING ON OIL, TANK EQUIPPED W/ METERING AND UNLOADING PUMP SYSTEM. MODEL YEAR 1990.

• BARBER GREENE REBUILT PORTABLE RECYCLE BIN 9X14 38’’ FEEDER, W/ HYDRAULIC LIFT GRIZZLEY AND REPLACED DRIVE COMPONENTS. • PORTABLE CONTROL HOUSE W/ MCC 1800 AMP. SYSTEMS BLENDING AND LOADOUT, PLUG IN CABLING THROUGHOUT. UPGRADED TO SYSTEMS CONTROLS TEN YEARS AGO. • PORTABLE PARTS TRAILER INCLUDED

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